How have notes fared during the downturn?

[Sean Dezoysa]

Performance during a downturn has been a question mark in my mind for performing notes. 9-10% yield without volatility (like the markets) sounds nice but if even a fraction of the note portfolio goes non-performing then it darkens the whole picture, even makes buying stocks/bonds look like the better option again.

Is this a fair assessment? Has note performance been a concern recently? If I'm not thinking about risk during downturns the right way I would love feedback on what i'm missing. I do not want to get into the non-performing note business, I want a hands off option that still does better than an index fund.