Agree.
Back reasonably heavily in FNMIX. Never left MAINX.
Vaguely recall that Rosenberg (back when he was free for access) said that HY bonds return exceeded their risk. Have bought Fidos HY funds in my 403b.

".....The modest spread between high-grade bonds on the one hand and emerging markets and high-yield on the other is itself taken as an indication that investors may be investing too much in higher-risk assets. As more money has poured into funds that invest in those assets, prices have risen and yields have therefore dropped. The question for many now is whether those yields are appropriate given the nature of the risk......"
***********************
All of which just makes me glad I added to MAINX last year, and am also simply riding my stake in PREMX higher--- without adding. Same with DLFNX. I bought at a Market-top, then it sank. But I stood-pat, collecting the monthlies. Now it's risen sufficiently that I am well over my break-even point. What will I do with all of these very soon? Absolutely nothing. :)

It was a sea of red for me although I am up 5.7% YTD. MAINX was the least down, just a penny.

This is truly interesting to me, this thread. I'm holding 13 funds. Lucky 13, eh? Almost two-thirds of my total are in 3 funds, though. Sounds a lot like expatsp. (MAPIX, PRWCX and PRESX.) I use small positions to feed larger, supposedly more solid, conservative positions. (TRAMX--- running a bit cooler, very recently--- will feed PRWCX, and MAINX will feed MAFSX or MAPIX.) But MAPIX is still busy doing well, AND making my ark top-heavy! Should I be glad or sad? Yes, I think. Yes.

My bonds are making me smile these days: DLFNX, MAINX, PREMX. Some bonds also in MAPOX and PRWCX.

OK, I'll bite.
My bond funds. DLFNX is up ytd +4.24% Next, MAINX is up +3.71% and PREMX is up +6.82% ytd.
My biggest domestic core equity funds are of the "balanced" variety, holding both stocks and bonds. PRWCX is up ytd by +3.74% and MAPOX is up +3.00%.
Biggest foreign holding: MAPIX. It is up ytd by +0.51%. SFGIX is up by +2.91% ytd.
Yes, the good performance of bonds has been "The Curve Ball" this year. Yellen was lately quoted as asserting that interest rates would be kept low by policy for quite a bit longer, too. Jeez, I just got a car loan from the Credit Union at 2.49%. That's like free money falling from the sky. On $10,000, It amounts to just $50 of interest each year, over 5 years. But of course, we will pay it off early. And we'll do something silly with the leftover we have gifted to ourselves. Like maybe invest that leftover in mutual funds! :)

12.84% of portf. in US Treasuries: DLFNX. Up +4.33 ytd.
5.97% of portf. in UST: DLTNX. Up +3.87 ytd.
I own DLFNX. I just thought to compare them.
MAINX is SHORTING USA 10-year notes. (labeled "CBT." What's that? Dated June, 2014. Callable Boot Trash? CBT?) But it's near the bottom of its holdings list. I asked about this earlier, and David got an answer from Fund Manager Teresa Kong which seemed to make sense.
MAINX ytd: up +3.52%.

Wow, this thread has extended itself nicely! My top 3 mutual funds ytd (18th April:)
1. TRAMX +9.41%
2.PREMX +4.74
3.MAINX +3.04
Honorable Mention: DLFNX +2.95 .....SFGIX +2.64
THREE bond funds in the top 5. Not big positions. Pity.

pay date: 20th March, 2014. MAPIX and MAINX.
http://matthewsasia.com/investor-resources/fund-distributions.fs

13 March, 2013: My only "up" funds were bonds: DLFNX and PREMX. My MAINX was down by a penny.

On Feb. 14th, crash posted a note that asked about MAINX's short on U.S. Treasuries. I promised to ask management and just heard back. Here's Teresa's explanation:

Credit, currency, and interest rate are distinct dimensions of risk and return in any international bond portfolio. As such, we analyze each of these components and actively take on or hedge out any one of these dimensions of risks. About half of our securities are USD-denominated bonds of Asian companies. For example, Hyundai Motors issue bonds denominated in the Korean Won, US Dollar, amongst other currencies. When we own bonds by Hyundai denominated in USD, we are exposed to the credit of Hyundai, but the currency and interest rates of the United States. This means that when US interest rate rises (holding all other variables constant) our USD denominated bonds will fall in value. Similarly, when US interest rates fall, our USD denominated bonds will rise in value. Our long term view is that US interest rates are more likely to rise than fall. As such, we have hedged out some of the US interest rate exposure embedded in our USD denominated bonds by selling US Treasuries futures.

For what interest it holds,
David

Where did you find this information?
Edit: Never mind, I didn't click on the pdf link for all holdings. It's at the bottom.
Not sure what to think about this action. From what I have gleaned out of Yellen's comments, rate are going to be low for quite some time to come. The Fed is maintaining their accommodative stance. One thing I have noticed as of late is that MAINX has leveled off when looking at a chart and perhaps the downtrend is over.

Teresa Kong at MAINX is shorting a US 10-year Note "Cbt." (?) It is dated Dec. 2013. Can this be good? Is she betting on rising rates, or...?

I like Matthews. Both funds invest in the same geographic overlay. MEASX seems to be more all cap style while MSMLX is small cap only. The latter has a lower ER.
It would depend on what style of fund you are looking for. I might lean to MSMLX as MEASX might be duplicating somewhat in what you have in MAPIX/MACSX.
I have MAPIX, MAPTX, and MAINX in my holdings. Good luck.

DLFNX was UNCHANGED on Friday. MAINX was down just 2 cents. My worst performer was PRESX: down -2.9% on the day. A few of mine were down by over 2%. UNHAPPY. But I guess it was to be expected. Every blue moon. Stinky two days, to finish the week. Thurs and Fri combined, my portf. was down -2.18%.

SUBFX is flat over the trailing twelve months while two other positions MAINX RNSIX are down 4-6% excluding yield which was negligible for SUBFX.
http://finance.yahoo.com/q/bc?t=1y&s=SUBFX&l=on&z=l&q=l&c=MAINX+RNSIX&ql=1
As a diversifier in fixed income allocations it seems to fit as does RPHYX with a stable NAV .

Reply to @MaxBialystock: Looking at MAINX, it looks like the NAV has stabilized since December. Perhaps the worst is over?

Not at all wonderful.
DLFNX 1.21
PRESX 1.12
PREMX 0.85
MJFOX 0.74
PRWCX 0.62
WORST = SFGIX, at -2.47 and MAPIX at -1.92.
...So, my bonds are among the top 5. Surprise? (MAINX is down just a tenth of a point. It was down about 1.5 for 2013.)

We have a smallish portfolio with a long horizon so I cut down fund positions today from 8 to 6 in order to get more out of my savings:
Gone are MAINX, ARTWX and SFGIX. Proceeds went into starting GPROX and increasing MAPIX to 15% each. SFGIX will probably replace MACSX in fiancee's IRA of balanced funds.
Increased DODWX and PRBLX to 25% each. Considering changing PRBLX to VIG.
Bonds down to 10% with only DODIX. Considering going lower or eliminating for time being.
10% position in VVPSX remains unchanged, though eye is on BIAUX and FLPSX.
Also considering starter positions in MLPI and XBI or another biotech fund, though might wait for correction.

I've been changing the mix of my 20-25% of portfolio bond funds distribution. I thought I'd post the funds I'm moving to going forward. I'd like to get your comments and maybe hear what others are planning to do in this bond-unfriendly environment. A couple of these funds I've held for years. A couple are new.
I sold PIMIX in the fall. This was my biggest bond holding at the time. Sold my MWTRX just yesterday. I sold a small investment I had in MAINX, because I just didn't see a need for it (I already have one of the best global bond funds available. I think I just got caught up in all the hoopla here at MFO when MAINX 1st came out.) I was going to keep a sizable investment in short term bonds, PRWBX, but only because I wanted something safer for interest rate increases - but not stuck in cash. I would have loved to get into the Riverpark fund when it was open, RPHYX, but that choice wasn't available in my 401k.
But then I read about the mis-categorized Wells Fargo short term high yield bond fund, SSTHX, that David uncovered in this months commentary. It has returns as good as or better than RPHYX, but with slightly higher volatility. So, the Wells Fargo fund looks like a good fit for me.
So with the thought of rising interest rates and inflation on the horizon - short duration, high yield, floating rate, corporate bonds and maybe global being the sweet spots, here is where I'm at:
5% LSBRX
5% WDHYX
5% PRFRX
5% FGBRX
I have 40% of my portfolio in balanced and allocation funds, so there is more bond exposure that I'll let those managers deal with.
So, what do others think of this collection and what are others thinking of doing (if anything) with higher interest rates looming?