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3 Short-Term Government Bond Funds to Mitigate Risk

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Mutual funds investing in debt securities are among the most secure investment options that provide regular income while protecting the capital invested. Funds in this category bring a great deal of stability to portfolios with a large proportion of equity while providing dividends more frequently than individual bonds. U.S. government bond funds usually invest in Treasury bills, notes and securities issued by government agencies. They are considered the safest in the bond fund category and are ideal for risk-averse investors.

A short-term government bond fund is a mutual fund that is limited by its investment objectives and fund bylaws to investing primarily in short-term obligations of the federal government or its agencies. This makes it an ideal option for investors looking for the safety net of investing in government bonds. Depending on the fund's definition, the short term can be up to five years.

Below, we share with you three top-ranked short-term government bond mutual funds, namely T. Rowe Price Institutional Floating Rate (RPIFX - Free Report) , Sei Short-Duration Government (TCSGX - Free Report) and Loomis Sayles Limited Term Govt and Agency (NEFLX - 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.

T. Rowe Price Institutional Floating Rate primarily invests its assets in floating-rate loans and floating-rate debt securities, which represent borrowings by companies or other entities from banks and other lenders. It may also allocate a portion of its assets to investments denominated in currencies other than the U.S. dollar.

T. Rowe Price Institutional Floating Rate has three-year annualized returns of 8.9%. As of May 2025, RPIFX invested 51.4% of its net assets in Total Misc. Bonds.

Sei Short-Duration Government primarily invests its net assets in U.S. Treasury obligations and other government-related securities, including mortgage-backed securities and repurchase agreements backed by U.S. government agencies or instrumentalities. TCSGX advisors may also invest in securities issued by various U.S. government entities.

Sei Short-Duration Government has three-year annualized returns of 4%. TCSGX has an expense ratio of 0.48%.

Loomis Sayles Limited Term Govt and Agency primarily invests its net assets in securities with credit quality above or below that of the U.S. government’s long-term debt, backed by the U.S. government, its agencies, or instrumentalities. NEFLX advisors may also invest in investment-grade corporate bonds and notes, collateralized loan obligations, zero-coupon bonds, asset-backed and mortgage-related securities.

Loomis Sayles Limited Term Govt and Agency has three-year annualized returns of 4%. Christopher T. Harms has been the fund manager of NEFLX since April 2012.

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

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