Yield
For bonds and other fixed-income securities, yield is a rate of return on those securities. There are several types of yields and yield calculations. "Yield to maturity" is a common calculation for fixed-income securities, which takes into account total annual interest payments, the purchase price, the redemption value, and the amount of time remaining until maturity.
Alpha: Typically used to represent the value added or subtracted by active investment management strategies. It shows how an actively managed investment portfolio performed compared with the expected portfolio returns produced simply by benchmark volatility (beta) and market changes. A positive alpha shows that an investment manager has been able to capture more of the upside movement in the benchmark while softening the downswings. A negative alpha means that the manager's strategies have caught more benchmark downside than upside.
Beta: Standard measurement of potential investment risk and return. It shows how volatile a security's or an investment portfolio's returns have been compared with their respective benchmark indices. A benchmark index's beta always equals 1. A security or portfolio with a beta greater than 1 had returns that fluctuated more, both up and down, than those of its benchmark, while a beta of less than 1 indicates less fluctuation than the benchmark.
R-Squared: Portfolio performance and risk measure that indicates how much of a portfolio's performance fluctuations were attributable to movements in the portfolio's benchmark index. R-squared can range from 0-100%. An r-squared of 100% indicates that all portfolio performance movements were attributable to movements in the benchmark index-they correlate perfectly to the benchmark. Conversely, an r-squared of 0% indicates that there is no correlation between the performance movements of the portfolio and the benchmark.
Standard Deviation: Statistical measurement of variations from the average. In financial literature, it's often used to measure risk, when risk is measured or defined in terms of volatility. In general, more risk means more volatility, and more volatility means a higher standard deviation-there's more variation from the average of the data being measured. In this context, reducing risk means seeking lower standard deviation.
Sharpe Ratio: Simple but useful risk-adjusted measure of returns, showing the amount of return (reward) earned per unit of risk from any asset with a risk component. The higher the Sharpe Ratio, the better, theoretically, the portfolio's risk-adjusted performance-portfolios with higher Sharpe Ratios tend to provide more return for the same amount of risk. The Sharpe Ratio is useful, but not perfect. It can be skewed by irregular return factors that can upset the standard deviation calculation, and it doesn't take into account the market risk (beta) exposure of the portfolio.
Investment Blend: Reflects the blend of securities owned by a fund. For example, the percentage of foreign or domestic stocks held by an equity fund or the percentage of corporate and government securities owned by a bond fund. The U.S./Foreign Convertibles grouping includes Convertible Bonds, Equity Linked Securities and Convertible Preferred securities.
Top Holdings: This value represents the top holdings included in the portfolio on a percent of assets basis. Equity holdings are grouped to include common shares, depository receipts, rights and warrants issued by the same company. Holdings are rounded to the nearest whole number, which may result in the display of less than ten holdings.
Quality: Describes the portfolio of the fund in terms of the quality ratings of the securities it holds. Cash and cash equivalents include payable amounts related to securities purchased but not settled at period end. Credit quality ratings on underlying securities of a fund are obtained from three Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organizations ("NRSROs"), Standard & Poor's, Moody's and Fitch. Ratings are converted to the equivalent Standard & Poor's rating category for purposes of presentation. For municipal funds, each security is assigned the highest rating provided by the NRSROs. A "non-rated" designation is assigned when a public rating is not available for a security. This designation does not necessarily indicate low credit quality. The letter ratings are provided to indicate the credit worthiness of the underlying bonds in the portfolio. Long-term ratings generally range from AAA (highest) to D (lowest). Includes payable amounts related to securities purchased but not settled at period end.
Maturity: Describes the portfolio of the fund in terms of the different maturities of the securities it holds.
Weighted Average Life to Maturity (WALM): Is a measure of the sensitivity of a fixed income portfolio to interest rate changes. WALM is the average time in years to receive the principal repayments. Accordingly, WALM reflects how a portfolio would react to deteriorating credit or tightening liquidity conditions.
Coupon: Describes the portfolio of the fund in terms of the different coupons of the securities it holds.
Duration: Describes the portfolio of the fund in terms of the different durations of the securities it holds.
For detailed descriptions of indices or investing terms referenced above, refer to ourglossary.
FAQs
Here are the best High Yield Muni funds
- VanEck Short High Yield Muni ETF.
- VanEck High Yield Muni ETF.
- SPDR® Nuveen Blmbg Hi Yld Muncpl Bd ETF.
- VanEck CEF Municipal Income ETF.
- Franklin Dynamic Municipal Bond ETF.
- JPMorgan High Yield Municipal ETF.
- First Trust Municipal High Income ETF.
How do I withdraw money from my account?
- Online.
- By Phone. Please call us. We are available to assist you by telephone weekdays from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Central time.
- In Writing. Submit signed detailed instructions to American Century Investments. ...
- Note: Redemption proceeds will be sent as follows:
Over 40% of American Century Investments' profits go to our controlling owner, the Stowers Institute for Medical Research , a world-class biomedical research organization dedicated to defeating life-threatening diseases. Following their personal experiences with cancer, our founders Jim Stowers Jr.
What bank does American Century Investments use? ›
Each of our funds is considered a separate company from the fund's investment adviser. Each fund's securities are held by a custodian—currently State Street Bank and Trust Company—and the custody accounts are registered in the fund's name.
How risky are high yield municipal bonds? ›
High-yield munis differ from investment-grade municipal bonds because they have credit ratings that are below investment-grade, or have no credit rating at all. Lower credit ratings mean high-yield bond issuers are considered more vulnerable to missing interest payments or even failing to repay principal.
Are municipal bonds better than Treasury bonds? ›
Munis offer more value relative to bonds with similar risks
In the search for yield, municipal bonds shine relative to similar, lower-risk fixed income such as Treasuries, as well as investment grade bonds. Currently, tax-free municipal bonds yield 75% as much as (federally taxable) Treasury bonds.
Can you take money out of American Century Investments? ›
Online: Log in to your American Century account to request an online withdrawal. Traditional and Rollover IRA account owners must request withdrawals at the default withholding rate. SEP, SARSEP and SIMPLE account owners may choose 0%-100% withholding.
What is the maintenance fee for American Century? ›
American Century Investments mutual fund investors who maintain a total investment balance below $10,000 will be subject to the $25.00 annual account maintenance fee. Those currently not subject to the fee include investors who have only the following types of accounts: Non-matured Giftrust® accounts.
How many funds does American Century have? ›
A brokerage account gives you access to more than 11,000 mutual funds from over 500 fund companies.
Is American Century FDIC insured? ›
An investment in the fund is not a bank account and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency.
Overall Rating
Morningstar has awarded this fund 3 stars based on its risk-adjusted performance compared to the 177 funds within its Morningstar Category.
Is American Century Investments public or private? ›
American Century Investments is a privately controlled and independent investment management firm. American Century Investments, Inc. Kansas City, Missouri, U.S.
What is the legal name for American Century Investments? ›
American Century Companies, Inc., doing business as American Century Investments, operates as an investment management firm. The Company offers portfolio management and advisory services to individuals, institutions, trusts, private funds, charitable organizations, and investment companies.
What Bank do millionaires use in USA? ›
JP Morgan Private Bank
“J.P. Morgan Private Bank is the more elite program serving ultra-high-net-worth individuals,” Naghibi said. “It offers comprehensive services in savings, checking and retirement account management. But, more than anything, it gives clients access to their bank and team with a concierge feel.”
How old are American Century Investments? ›
Founded in 1958, American Century Investments' 1,400 employees serve financial professionals, institutions, corporations and individual investors from offices in Kansas City, Missouri; New York; Los Angeles; Santa Clara, California; Portland, Oregon; London; Frankfurt, Germany; Hong Kong; and Sydney.
Which bonds pay the highest yield? ›
10 Best High-Yield Bond Funds Of May 2024
| Fund (ticker) | Expense Ratio |
|---|
| American Funds American High-Income Trust Class F-1 (AHTFX) | 0.73% |
| Fidelity Floating Rate High Income Fund (FFRHX) | 0.68% |
| Fidelity Capital & Income Fund (fa*gIX) | 0.93% |
| American Funds Emerging Markets Bond Fund Class F-1 (EBNEX) | 0.94% |
6 more rowsMay 1, 2024
Municipal bond rates
They are S&P Global (SPGI 0.28%), Moody's (MCO 0.59%), and Fitch. Generally, the higher an issuer's credit rating, the lower the interest rate its bonds pay. Conversely, issuers with a lower rating generally must offer higher interest rates to offset the associated risk.
Which government bond gives highest return? ›
List of the 10 Best Government Bonds
| Bond Issuer | Coupon Rate | Yield |
|---|
| Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation Limited | 9.72% | 13.50% |
| Karnataka State Financial Corporation | 9.24% | 12.08% |
| West Bengal State Electricity Distribution Company Ltd | 9.34% | 11.95% |
| Indel Money Limited | 0% | 11.88% |
6 more rowsJan 24, 2024
The current yield is ~4.33%.
