August 1, 2021 5 min read

This story originally appeared on ValueWalk

Long-term bond funds primarily invest in government securities and corporate bonds having a medium to long maturity period. Such funds are sensitive to the changes in the interest rates, and can be more volatile than other debt instruments. Let’s take a look at the top ten long-term bond funds.

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Top Ten Long-Term Bond Funds

We have referred to the past one-year return data (from U.S. News) to rank the top ten Long-term bond funds. Following are the top ten Long-term bond funds:

10. Vanguard Long Term Investment Grade Fund (VWESX, 1%)

VWESX normally invests in high-quality investment-grade bonds issued by corporations and having an average maturity in the 15- to 25-year range. This fund has given a return of more than -3.4% in the last six months, and over 6.7% in the last three months. VWESX has $21.17 billion in total assets, while its expense ratio is 0.22. The top two holdings of the fund are: Microsoft and Wells Fargo.

9. SEI Long Duration (SIIT) Fund (LDRAX, 1%)

LDRAX primarily invests in investment grade U.S. dollar-denominated fixed income instruments. This fund has given a return of more than -3.6% in the last six months, and over 6.7% in the last three months. LDRAX has $1.29 billion in total assets, while its expense ratio is 0.15. The top two holdings of the fund are: United States Treasury Bonds 1.88% and Us Ultra Bond Cbt Sep21.

8. SEI Long Duration Credit (SIIT) Fund (SLDAX, 2%)

SLDAX also normally invests in investment grade U.S. dollar-denominated fixed income instruments. This fund has given a return of more than -3.4% in the last six months, and over 6.7% in the last three months. SLDAX has $4.11 billion in total assets, while its expense ratio is 0.15. The top two holdings of the fund are: 10 Year Treasury Note Future Sept 21 and United States Treasury Bonds 1.88%.

7. Calvert Core Bond Fund (CLDAX, 4%)

CLDAX usually invests in investment grade, U.S. dollar-denominated debt securities. This fund has given a return of more than -1.9% in the last six months, and over 1.8% in the last three months. CLDAX has $99.02 million in total assets, while its expense ratio is 0.74. The top two holdings of the fund are: Federal National Mortgage Association 3% and United States Treasury Notes 0.12%.

6. Vanguard Long-Term Corp Bond Idx Fund (VLCIX, 4%)

VLCIX aims to track the investment performance of the Bloomberg Barclays U.S. 10+ Year Corporate Bond Index. This fund has given a return of more than -2.2% in the last six months, and over 7% in the last three months. VLCIX has $5.55 billion in total assets, while its expense ratio is 0.05. The top two holdings of the fund are: GE Capital International Funding Company Unlimited Company and Anheuser-Busch InBev Worldwide.

5. T. Rowe Price Instl Lng Dur Crdt Fund (RPLCX, 5%)

RPLCX usually invests in a diversified portfolio of longer maturity debt securities of both corporate and non-corporate issuers. This fund has given a return of more than -1.7% in the last six months, and over 7% in the last three months. RPLCX has $19.57 million in total assets, while its expense ratio is 0.46. The top two holdings of the fund are: Tym1 Ust 10yr Fut Jun 21 and Wnm1 Ultra Us Bond Fut Jun 21.

4. PIMCO Long-Term Credit Bond Fund (PTCIX, 6%)

PTCIX usually invests in a diversified portfolio of Fixed Income Instruments of different maturities. This fund has given a return of more than -2% in the last six months, and over 6% in the last three months. PTCIX has $3.77 billion in total assets, while its expense ratio is 0.84. The top two holdings of the fund are: United States Treasury Bonds 3% and United States Treasury Bonds 1.875%.

3. Delaware Extended Duration Bond Fund (DEEAX, 6%)

DEEAX aims to maximize total return, and to achieve this, it normally invests in corporate bonds. This fund has given a return of more than -2% in the last six months, and over 6% in the last three months. DEEAX has $575.50 million in total assets, while its expense ratio is 0.82. The top two holdings of the fund are: US Treasury Bond Future Sept 21 and Anheuser-Busch InBev Worldwide Inc 4.9%.

2. Spirit of America Income Fd (SOAIX, 10%)

SOAIX usually invests in a portfolio of high yield U.S. corporate bonds, CMOs, taxable municipal bonds, income producing convertible securities, and preferred stocks. This fund has given a return of more than 3.2% in the last six months, and over 3.8% in the last three months. SOAIX has $129.02 million in total assets, while its expense ratio is 1.11. The top two holdings of the fund are: TOBACCO SETTLEMENT FING CORP VA 6.71% and MUNICIPAL ELEC AUTH GA 7.06%.

1. SEI Tax-Advantaged Income (STET) Fund (SEATX, 11%)

SEATX normally invests a minimum of 50% of its net assets in municipal securities, including bonds that offer tax exempt interest. This fund has given a return of more than 4% in the last six months, and over 3% in the last three months. SEATX has $1.37 billion in total assets, while its expense ratio is 0.86. The top two holdings of the fund are: United States Treasury Bills and METROPOLITAN TRANSN AUTH N Y REV 5%.