Investing - Theory, News & General • Re: Prospects of VCLAX (CA LT muni fund) in current environment?

I am reviving this thread from last year because precisely what I feared has now come to pass. VCLAX lost about 5% NAV over the course of the year. Total return including reinvested dividends has softened the blow somewhat but I am definitely reappraising whether or not I want 30% of my net worth invested in vclax. I completed an extensive accounting of my investment in VCLAX over 3.6 years and discovered some interesting information. Overall, it was a fairly lousy investment but not as bad as I thought it would be. The cumulative return was 6.8% with annualized return of 1.9% per year. Fortunately, that 1.9% was tax-exempt. In addition to this, the position generated a large capital loss which I am going to tax loss harvest. This will help the overall picture somewhat.

I think the greater question here is whether or not funds like these represent a "safe" alternative for extremely conservative investors. The gyrations of the bond markets, continued geopolitical risks, mounting federal debt are removing the "sleep soundly" aspect of these types of funds. The notion of "your bond funds will zig when your stock funds zag" seems like an old-fashioned truth. I plan on tax-loss harvesting this entire position that exists in my Schwab account. I will not be able to repurchase the VLAX after 31 days because Schwab does not allow purchase of the Admiral fund (this huge amount was actually transferred 3.6 years ago from Vanguard to Schwab). Therefore, if I want to continue holding this asset class I will either have to hold the higher ER variant or to transfer it to Vanguard (where they convert it to the Admiral class). I am currently re-evaluating how I feel about bond funds and whether or not I want to shift my monies into actual bonds or other vehicles.

Statistics: Posted by idoc2020 — Sat Sep 26, 2026 12:25 pm