Short-term bond funds primarily invest in corporate and other investment-grade fixed income securities, mainly from U.S. issuers. Such funds usually invest in securities that have a maturity period between a year to three years, as well as offer high liquidity. The interest from these bond funds is less in comparison to long-term bond funds. These funds are preferred by conservative investors as these funds are less sensitive to interest rates. Let's take a look at the ten best performing short-term bond funds.
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Ten Best Performing Short-Term Bond Funds
We have referred to the past one year return data of the bonds (from money.usnews.com) to rank the ten best performing short-term bond funds. Following are the ten best performing Short-term bond funds:
CM Advisors Fixed Income Fund (CMFIX, 3%)
CM Advisors Fixed Income Fund (MUTF:CMFIX) mainly invests in fixed income securities that the fund believes are undervalued. The fund may invest in all types of fixed income securities. The fund has returned over 1% in the last three months and over 2% in the last three years. CMFIX has more than $29 million in total assets. The top three holdings of the fund are: United States Treasury Notes 2.75%, Allspring Treasury Plus MMkt Inst and PHI Group Inc Ordinary Shares – New.
Frost Total Return Bond Fund (FAJEX, 3%)
Frost Total Return Bond Fund (MUTF:FAJEX), under normal circ*mstances, invests in fixed income securities, including investment grade securities. At times, it may also invest in securities rated below investment grade. The fund has returned almost 1% in the last six months and almost 4% in the last three years. FAJEX has more than $3 billion in total assets. The top three holdings of the fund are: United States Treasury Notes 0.75%, United States Treasury Notes 2.875% and United States Treasury Notes 0.625%.
Payden/Kravitz Cash Balance Plan Fund (PKBIX, 4%)
Payden/Kravitz Cash Balance Plan Fund (MUTF:PKBIX) has been designed as an investment vehicle for cash balance pension plans. This fund normally invests in a wide variety of debt instruments and income-producing securities. The fund has returned almost 1% in the last six months and over 4% in the last three years. PKBIX has more than $116 million in total assets. The top three holdings of the fund are: 2 Year Treasury Note Future Mar 22, Ultra 10 Year US Treasury Note Future Mar 22 and 10 Year Treasury Note Future Mar 22.
River Canyon Total Return Bond Fund (RCTIX, 4%)
River Canyon Total Return Bond Fund (MUTF:RCTIX), under normal circ*mstances, invests in bonds, including mortgage-backed securities, debt securities, and other fixed income instruments from governmental or private-sector entities. The fund has returned almost 1% in the last six months and over 7% in the last three years. RCTIX has more than $1 billion in total assets. The top three holdings of the fund are: CSMC 2021-WEHO 4.05305%, CSMC 2021-BRIT 3.83284% and the United States Treasury Notes 0.5%.
Frost Credit Fund (FCFBX, 5%)
Frost Credit Fund (MUTF:FCFBX) primarily invests in fixed income securities of U.S. and foreign corporate issuers. The fund has returned over 1% in the last six months and over 6% in the last three years. FCFBX has more than $183 million in total assets. The top three holdings of the fund are: Race Point IX CLO Limited/Corp 2.39129%, Golub Cap Partners Clo 21 M-R Ltd / FRN 2.57388% and Mcf Clo Viii Ltd / Mcf Clo Viii FRN 1.87225%.
DFA Short-Duration Real Return Port (DFAIX, 5%)
DFA Short-Duration Real Return Portfolio (MUTF:DFAIX) mainly invests in a combination of debt securities. It may also invest more than 25% of its total assets in U.S. Treasury bonds, bills and notes. The fund has returned almost 3% in the last six months and almost 5% in the last three years. DFAIX has more than $1.90 billion in total assets. The top three holdings of the fund are: United States Treasury Notes 0.75%, Norway (Kingdom Of) 3% and the United States Treasury Notes 0.625%.
Destinations Low Duration Fixed (DLDFX, 6%)
Destinations Low Duration Fixed Income Fund (MUTF:DLDFX) normally invests in bonds, debt, and fixed income producing instruments that are issued by the government or private-sector entities. The fund has returned over 2% in the last six months and almost 4% in the last three years. DLDFX has more than $580 million in total assets. The top three holdings of the fund are: iShares Core 1-5 Year USD Bond ETF, T/L Mallinckrodt International Finance S.A Regd and Fresh Market, Inc. 9.75%.
Thompson Bond Fund (THOPX, 6%)
Thompson Bond Fund (MUTF:THOPX) primarily invests in corporate bonds. Also, about 30% of its assets are currently in cash. The fund has returned almost 1% in the last six months and over 3% in the last three years. THOPX has more than $2.40 billion in total assets. The top three holdings of the fund are: General Electric Company, AmTrust Financial Services and Reinsurance Grp Amer.
Holbrook Income Fund (HOBAX, 6%)
Holbrook Income Fund (MUTF:HOBAX) usually invests in fixed income instruments and may also put a maximum of 50% of its assets in the common and preferred stock of underlying funds. The fund has returned almost 1% in the last six months and almost 7% in the last three years. HOBAX has more than $670 million in total assets. The top three holdings of the fund are: First American Government Obligs X, Charah Solutions and Ready Cap.
Angel Oak Financials Income Fund (ANFLX, 7%)
Angel Oak Financials Income Fund (MUTF:ANFLX) mainly invests in debt issued by financial institutions, including subordinated debt, high yield securities, senior debt, preferred securities and trust-preferred securities. The fund has returned over 2% in the last six months and almost 3% in the last three years. ANFLX has more than $168 million in total assets. The top three holdings of the fund are: First American Government Obligs U, Kingstone Companies, and Preferred Bank.
