Correction: in the previous newsletter March 21, 2016: Small And Large Company Stock Performance In Different Economic Expansion Cycles, there was a mistake in the last column of the first table. The two entries should be swapped: i.e. since 1/18/91, VFINX annualized return should be 9.6% while NAESX’s annualized return should be 11.3%. We thank a user who pointed this out. 

Total Return Bond ETFs Review

For portfolio construction purpose, we are very much interested in total return oriented bond funds. In general, we view a bond fund as a total return bond fund if it can invest in various bond sectors (such as domestic, emerging market, high yield and investment grade) but with disciplined constriants such as in general, it is of intermediate term maturity and does not overweight in risky sectors such as emerging market or high yield bonds. 

We believe that a portfolio that is constructed out of a selected list of total return bond mutual funds can be a core fixed income investment. You can find these portfolios customized for major brokerages on Brokerage Investors page. We have discussed these portfolios in various newsletters like June 3, 2013: Total Return Bond Fund Portfolios For Major Brokerages. You can find more newsletters on this subject on our Newsletter Collection page (MyPlanIQ Newsletters -> Newsletter Collection (pull down menu)).