Montecfo
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
You are missing an important point. Those that hold individual bonds would not lock a 10 year treasury note at 0.5% or a 30 year treasury bond at 1.5%. Bond funds bloated themselves with low coupon debt while fixed income investors either stayed in cash or shifted to the shortest durations. When bonds stop generating income, they are no longer viable investments. Those that manage bond funds appear to have forgotten that fact. I can't think of a single fixed income investor that bought negative yield bonds but many funds did just that. The vast majority of people that buy individual bonds and CDs market time. This is normal behavior that most Bogleheads just don't understand.
Yes, they would, if those were the best available yields for their time horizon and targeted risk tolerance.
The idea that we are all smarter than all fund managers is a bit silly.
If you notice, most bond funds have a specific objective, such as intermediate investment grade corprpate bonds or long-term treasuries. They don't just decide what term and flavor they wish to buy. Their purchases must be in line with published fund objectives. Which investors accept when they purchase them.
Your last sentence I agree with.
Did you want to tackle the actual pros snd cons of indexing, funds and direct ownership or just continue to flog the idea that fund managers are just dumber than we are?