Bond Fund Performance by Morningstar Category
Here are average total returns for bond mutual fund categories tracked by Morningstar, through March 31. Total return is dividend or interest income plus or minus any principal change. Figures for periods longer than one year are annualized average returns. Category descriptions, and Morningstar’s top--rated picks by category, appear in the tables on the next few pages.
*--*
Total % Return Category Obj Cat 1st Q 1-yr Emerging-markets EB 4.5% -25.8% High-yield HY 2.6 -2.1 Ultrashort-term UB 1.3 5.2 Multi-sector MU 0.7 -1.1 Short-term investment grade CS 0.5 5.4 *Muni national long-term ML 0.5 4.8 *Muni national intermediate-term MI 0.5 5.0 Short-term government GS 0.3 5.1 Long-term investment grade CL -0.6 4.0 Intermediate-term investment grade CI -0.6 5.1 Intermediate-term government GI -0.6 5.3 International IB -2.1 4.9 Long-term government GL -3.3 5.9 Average government -0.5 5.3 Average corporate 0.5 3.0 Average international -1.0 -0.5
*--*
*
*--*
Annualized Total % Return Category Obj Cat 3-yr 5-yr 10-yr Emerging-markets EB 4.7% 7.5% NA High-yield HY 8.1 9.5% 8.9 Ultrashort-term UB 5.7 5.6 5.6 Multi-sector MU 6.7 6.7 8.4 Short-term investment grade 5.9 5.8 7.4 5.3 *Muni national intermediate-term MI 6.0 6.2 7.0 Short-term government GS 5.7 5.6 7.1 Long-term investment grade CL 7.5 7.5 9.2 Intermediate-term investment grade CI 6.9 6.9 8.3 Intermediate-term government GI 6.5 6.5 7.9 International IB 6.1 6.3 7.7 Long-term government GL 8.3 7.9 9.2 Average government 6.4 6.3 7.9 Average corporate 6.9 6.9 8.5 Average international 5.9 6.4 7.7
Category 12-Mo Yield Emerging-markets 12.3% High-yield Ultrashort-term 4.9 Multi-sector 7.3 Short-term investment grade *Muni national intermediate-term 4.0 Short-term government 4.9 Long-term investment grade 5.9 Intermediate-term investment grade 5.5 Intermediate-term government 5.3 International 5.4 Long-term government 5.0 Average government 5.1 Average corporate 6.4 Average international 6.5
*--*
*Because muni interest is tax-exempt, real returns will be higher than stated returns and will depend on an investor’s tax bracket.
