I like your take on junk bonds. Like you said, even though there's a positive correlation between the junk bond market and the stock market, junk bonds are considerably less volatile than stocks, and it's nice to get the regular payments from them, especially when the stock market is flat or down. (Isn't it ironic that junk bonds are less volatile than T-bonds (long-term treasuries), despite the fact that the latter are "safer"?) Am I right to guess that at the moment, at least, TRHYX is giving you more bang for your buck than any other income/dividend play available in your 401(k)? By the way, I know this goes against conventional "wisdom", but I'm not interested in bonds for their "correlation benefits"; I'm interested in them for what they do by design: provide cash flow, regardless of what's going on in the stock market! In other words, I'm far more concerned with the cash flow (and the issuer's continuing ability to provide that cash flow) than with how the bond's price is moving vis-a-vis the stock market.
RE: Junk bond funds (corporate bonds) in your 401K.