Objective & Strategy
The Fund seeks to provide protection from the negative effects of unanticipated inflation.
Morningstar Rating ™
Overall Rating - Inflation-Protected Bond CategoryAs of 04/30/2023 the Fund had an overall rating of 4 stars out of 199 funds and was rated 4 stars out of 199 funds, 3 stars out of 194 funds and 4 stars out of 134 funds for the 3-, 5- and 10- year periods, respectively.
Source: Morningstar Inc. Ratings are based on a risk-adjusted return measure that accounts for variation in a fund's monthly performance, placing more emphasis on downward variations and rewarding consistent performance. Open-end mutual funds and exchange-traded funds are considered a single population for comparison purposes. Ratings are calculated for funds with at least a three year history. The overall rating is derived from a weighted average of three-, five- and 10-year rating metrics, as applicable, excluding sales charges and including fees and expenses. ©2023 Morningstar Inc. All rights reserved. The information contained herein is proprietary to Morningstar and/or its content providers. It may not be copied or distributed and is not warranted to be accurate, complete or timely. Neither Morningstar nor its content providers are responsible for any damages or losses arising from any use of this information. Past performance does not guarantee future results. The top 10% of funds in a category receive five stars, the next 22.5% four stars, the next 35% three stars, the next 22.5% two stars and the bottom 10% one star. Ratings are subject to change monthly. Had fees not been waived and/or expenses reimbursed currently or in the past, the Morningstar rating would have been lower. Ratings for other share classes may differ due to different performance characteristics.
Management team
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Robert Young, CFA
Senior Portfolio Manager
Average Annual Returns (%)
Incept. Date |
Max Load (%) |
Since Incept. (%) |
YTD (%) | 1Y (%) | 3Y (%) | 5Y (%) | 10Y (%) | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Performance quoted is past performance and cannot guarantee comparable future results; current performance may be lower or higher. Investment return and principal value will vary so that you may have a gain or a loss when you sell shares.
Annualized Benchmark Returns
Index Name | 1 Mo (%) | 3 Mo (%) | 1Y (%) | 3Y (%) | 5Y (%) | 10Y (%) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
ICE BofA 1-5 Year U.S. Inflation-Linked Treasury Total Return Index | 0.27 | 1.80 | -0.99 | 2.94 | 2.96 | 1.55 |
ICE BofA 1-5 Year U.S. Inflation-Linked Treasury Total Return Index | 0.27 | 1.80 | -0.99 | 2.94 | 2.96 | 1.55 |
ICE BofA 1-5 Year U.S. Inflation-Linked Treasury Total Return Index | 2.12 | 2.24 | -1.53 | 3.29 | 2.89 | 1.48 |
ICE BofA 1-5 Year U.S. Inflation-Linked Treasury Total Return Index | 2.12 | 2.24 | -1.53 | 3.29 | 2.89 | 1.48 |
Source: FactSet Research Systems Inc.
Source: FactSet Research Systems Inc.
An investment cannot be made directly in an index.
Expense Ratio per Prospectus
Management Fee | 0.20 |
12b-1 Fee | 0.25 |
Other Expenses | 0.16 |
Interest/Dividend Exp | N/A |
Total Other Expenses | 0.16 |
Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses (Underlying Fund Fees & Expenses) | N/A |
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses | 0.61 |
Contractual Waivers/Reimbursements | -0.06 |
Net Expenses - PER PROSPECTUS | 0.55 |
Additional Waivers/Reimbursements | N/A |
Net Expenses - With Additional Fee Reduction | 0.55 |
Distributions
Capital Gains | Reinvestment Price ($) |
|||
---|---|---|---|---|
Ex-Date | Income | Short Term | Long Term | |
Fund Characteristics
3-Year Alpha | -0.52% |
3-Year Beta | 0.98 |
3-Year R-Squared | 0.99 |
3-Year Sharpe Ratio | 0.32 |
3-Year Standard Deviation | 3.70 |
Number of Securities | 20 |
Total Assets | $616,394,279.00 |
Source: FactSet Research Systems Inc.,StyleADVISOR
Benchmark: ICE BofA 1-5 Year U.S. Inflation-Linked Treasury Total Return Index
Fund Documents
About risk
Market Risk. The market values of the Fund’s investments, and therefore the value of the Fund’s shares, will go up and down, sometimes rapidly or unpredictably. Market risk may affect a single issuer, industry or section of the economy, or it may affect the market as a whole. The value of the Fund’s investments may go up or down due to general market conditions that are not specifically related to the particular issuer, such as real or perceived adverse economic conditions, changes in the general outlook for revenues or corporate earnings, changes in interest or currency rates, regional or global instability, natural or environmental disasters, widespread disease or other public health issues, war, military conflict, acts of terrorism or adverse investor sentiment generally. During a general downturn in the financial markets, multiple asset classes may decline in value. When markets perform well, there can be no assurance that specific investments held by the Fund will rise in value.
Index Risk. Unlike many investment companies, the Fund does not utilize an investing strategy that seeks returns in excess of its Index. Therefore, the Fund would not necessarily buy or sell a security unless that security is added to or removed from, respectively, the Index, even if that security generally is underperforming. Additionally, the Fund generally rebalances its portfolio in accordance with the Index, and, therefore, any changes to the Index’s rebalance schedule will typically result in corresponding changes to the Fund’s rebalance schedule.
Debt Securities Risk. The prices of debt securities held by the Fund will be affected by changes in interest rates, the creditworthiness of the issuer and other factors. An increase in prevailing interest rates typically causes the value of existing debt securities to fall and often has a greater impact on longer-duration debt securities and higher quality debt securities. Falling interest rates will cause the Fund to reinvest the proceeds of debt securities that have been repaid by the issuer at lower interest rates. Falling interest rates may also reduce the Fund’s distributable income because interest payments on floating rate debt instruments held by the Fund will decline. The Fund could lose money on investments in debt securities if the issuer or borrower fails to meet its obligations to make interest payments and/or to repay principal in a timely manner. Changes in an issuer’s financial strength, the market’s perception of such strength or in the credit rating of the issuer or the security may affect the value of debt securities. The Adviser’s credit analysis may fail to anticipate such changes, which could result in buying a debt security at an inopportune time or failing to sell a debt security in advance of a price decline or other credit event.
Inflation-Indexed Securities Risk. The values of inflation-indexed securities generally fluctuate in response to changes in real interest rates. Because of the inflation-adjustment feature, these securities typically have lower yields than traditional fixed-rate securities with similar maturities. Normally inflation-indexed securities will decline in price when real interest rates rise which could cause losses for the Fund. As a result, the Fund’s income from its investments in these securities is likely to fluctuate considerably more than the income distributions of its investments in more traditional fixed-income securities.
Inflation-Indexed Securities Tax Risk. Any increase in the principal amount of an inflation-indexed security may be included for tax purposes in the Fund’s gross income, even though no cash attributable to such gross income has been received by the Fund. In such event, the Fund may be required to make annual distributions to shareholders that exceed the cash it has otherwise received. In order to pay such distributions, the Fund may be required to raise cash by selling portfolio investments. The sale of such investments could result in capital gains to the Fund and additional capital gain distributions to shareholders. In addition, adjustments during the taxable year for deflation to an inflation-indexed bond held by the Fund may cause amounts previously distributed to shareholders in the taxable year as income to be characterized as a return of capital.
Changing Fixed Income Market Conditions Risk. The current low interest rate environment was created in part by the Federal Reserve Board (FRB) and certain foreign central banks keeping the federal funds and equivalent foreign rates near historical lows. Increases in the federal funds and equivalent foreign rates may expose fixed income markets to heightened volatility and reduced liquidity for certain fixed income investments, particularly those with longer maturities. In addition, decreases in fixed income dealer market-making capacity may also potentially lead to heightened volatility and reduced liquidity in the fixed income markets. As a result, the value of the Fund’s investments and share price may decline. Changes in central bank policies could also result in higher than normal shareholder redemptions, which could potentially increase portfolio turnover and the Fund’s transaction costs.
U.S. Government Obligations Risk. Obligations of U.S. Government agencies and authorities receive varying levels of support and may not be backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Government, which could affect the Fund’s ability to recover should they default. No assurance can be given that the U.S. Government will provide financial support to its agencies and authorities if it is not obligated by law to do so.
Derivatives Risk. The value of a derivative instrument depends largely on (and is derived from) the value of an underlying security, currency, commodity, interest rate, index or other asset (each referred to as an underlying asset). In addition to risks relating to the underlying assets, the use of derivatives may include other, possibly greater, risks, including counterparty, leverage and liquidity risks. Counterparty risk is the risk that the counterparty to the derivative contract will default on its obligation to pay the Fund the amount owed or otherwise perform under the derivative contract. Derivatives create leverage risk because they do not require payment up front equal to the economic exposure created by holding a position in the derivative. As a result, an adverse change in the value of the underlying asset could result in the Fund sustaining a loss that is substantially greater than the amount invested in the derivative or the anticipated value of the underlying asset, which may make the Fund’s returns more volatile and increase the risk of loss. Derivative instruments may also be less liquid than more traditional investments and the Fund may be unable to sell or close out its derivative positions at a desirable time or price. This risk may be more acute under adverse market conditions, during which the Fund may be most in need of liquidating its derivative positions. Derivatives may also be harder to value, less tax efficient and subject to changing government regulation that could impact the Fund’s ability to use certain derivatives or their cost. Derivatives strategies may not always be successful. For example, derivatives used for hedging or to gain or limit exposure to a particular market segment may not provide the expected benefits, particularly during adverse market conditions.
When-Issued, Delayed Delivery and Forward Commitment Risks. When-issued and delayed delivery transactions subject the Fund to market risk because the value or yield of a security at delivery may be more or less than the purchase price or yield generally available when delivery occurs, and counterparty risk because the Fund relies on the buyer or seller, as the case may be, to consummate the transaction. These transactions also have a leveraging effect on the Fund because the Fund commits to purchase securities that it does not have to pay for until a later date, which increases the Fund’s overall investment exposure and, as a result, its volatility.
Sampling Risk. The Fund’s use of a representative sampling approach will result in its holding a smaller number of securities than are in the Index and in the Fund holding securities not included in the Index. As a result, an adverse development respecting an issuer of securities held by the Fund could result in a greater decline in the Fund’s NAV than would be the case if all of the securities in the Index were held. The Fund’s use of a representative sampling approach may also include the risk that it may not track the return of the Index as well as it would have if the Fund held all of the securities in the Index.
Financial Markets Regulatory Risk. Policy changes by the U.S. government or its regulatory agencies and political events within the U.S. and abroad may, among other things, affect investor and consumer confidence and increase volatility in the financial markets, perhaps suddenly and to a significant degree, which may adversely impact the Fund’s operations, universe of potential investment options, and return potential.