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3 Diversified Bond Mutual Funds for Steady Returns

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Investing in diversified bond funds is more preferred to individual bond investing, as building a portfolio of the second type may prove relatively more expensive. A higher level of liquidity also makes diversified bond funds more attractive.

Moreover, mutual funds having significant exposure to diversified bonds are excellent choices for investors seeking steady returns with a relatively low level of risk. Investing in funds that maintain a portfolio of bonds issued across a wide range of market sectors also reduces sector-specific risk.

Below we share with you three top-ranked diversified bond mutual funds, namely PIMCO CommodityRealReturn Strategy Fund Class A (PCRAX - Free Report) , Pacific Funds Strategic Income Fund Advisor Class (PLSFX - Free Report) and Nuveen Preferred Securities & Income Fund (NPSAX - Free Report) . Each has earned a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and is expected to outperform its peers in the future. Investors can click here to see the complete list of funds.

PIMCO CommodityRealReturn Strategy Fund Class A seeks maximum real return by investing most of its net assets in commodity-linked derivative instruments backed by a portfolio of inflation-indexed securities and other fixed-income instruments, which include bonds, debt securities and other similar instruments issued by domestic and foreign public- or private-sector issuers. PCRAX advisors may also invest in various leveraged or unleveraged commodity index-linked notes.

PIMCO CommodityRealReturn Strategy Fund Class A has three-year annualized returns of 23.3%. As of the end of February 2022, PCRAX has 14.20% of its assets invested in U.S. treasury inflation-protected securities.

Pacific Funds Strategic Income Fund Advisor Class invests most of its net assets in income-producing debt instruments — investment grade and below investment grade — in various proportions based on market conditions. PLSFX advisors may also invest in floating-rate loans, corporate-debt securities, asset-backed securities, mortgage-related securities, U.S. government and various agency securities.

Pacific Funds Strategic Income Fund Advisor Classhas three-year annualized returns of 3.6%. PLSFX has an expense ratio of 0.71% compared with the category average of 0.97%.

Nuveen Preferred Securities & Income Fund invests most of its assets along with borrowing, if any, in preferred and other income-producing investment grade securities of companies that are principally engaged in financial services. NPSAX can also invest a small portion of its assets in below-investment-grade securities.

Nuveen Preferred Securities & Income Fundhas three-year annualized returns of 3.5%. Douglas M. Baker has been the fund manager of NPSAX since December 2006.

To view the Zacks Rank and the past performance of all diversified bond mutual funds, investors can click here to see the complete list of diversified bond mutual funds.

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