Founded in 1983, Payden & Rygel is an independent, employee-owned investment management company with $169 billion in assets under management as of March 31, 2026. It offers a diverse portfolio of financial products and services, including mutual funds, a wide array of separate accounts, and other investment products.

The investment approaches of the various portfolios include fixed income and a variety of income-oriented, balanced, and unconstrained equity portfolios. Portfolios comprise a wide array of securities issued in the U.S. and international markets, including government, corporate and mortgage-backed securities, as well as dividend-paying equities.

The team at Payden & Rygel uses many key principles in their investment management, including using fundamental research, an understanding of current economic trends and cycles, and an active management style. As a result, each of the firm’s portfolio managers uses his or her in-depth knowledge of credit to select only the best investments available at the right time, making it a noteworthy investment choice.

We have chosen three Payden & Rygelmutual funds, Payden High Income (PYHRX Quick QuotePYHRX - Free Report) , Payden Emerging Markets Bond Adviser (PYEWX Quick QuotePYEWX - Free Report) and Payden Core Bond Adviser (PYCWX Quick QuotePYCWX - Free Report) , which investors should buy now for the long term. These funds have a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank #1 (Strong Buy) or 2 (Buy), positive three-year and five-year annualized returns, minimum initial investments within $5000 and expense ratios considerably lower than the category average. So, these funds have provided a comparatively stronger performance and carry a lower fee.

Payden High Income fund invests in a wide variety of debt instruments and income-producing securities, including corporate debt securities, loans and commercial paper; U.S. and foreign government and agency debt, including supranational issuers; municipal securities; convertible bonds; and preferred stock. 

Jordan Lopez has been the lead manager of PYHRX since Aug. 14, 2012. Most of the fund’s holdings were in companies like Misc Bonds (73.6%), Cash (3.2%) and Other (0.7%) as of Jan. 31, 2026.

PYHRX’s 3-year and 5-year annualized returns are 9.9% and 5.1%, respectively. Its net expense ratio is 0.60%. PYHRX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank #1. 

To see how this fund performed compared to its category, and other 1 and 2 Ranked Mutual Funds, please click here.

Payden Emerging Markets Bond Adviser fund invests most of its assets in debt securities issued by governments and other entities in emerging market countries.

Nigel Jenkins has been the lead manager of PYEWX since Oct. 7, 2011. Most of the fund’s holdings were in companies like Miscellaneous Bonds (54.1%), Peru Govt Bond (2.8%) and Cash (2.5%) as of Jan. 31, 2026.

PYEWX’s 3-year and 5-year annualized returns are 11.8% and 2.8%, respectively. Its net expense ratio is 0.99%. PYEWX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank #2.  

Payden Core Bond Adviser fund invests most of its assets in U.S. dollar-denominated debt and income-generating securities, primarily investment-grade bonds.

Timothy Crawmer has been the lead manager of PYCWX since Feb. 28, 2020. Most of the fund’s holdings were in companies like Miscellaneous Bonds (66.9%), U.S. Treasury Inflation-Indexed Notes (2.1%) and U.S. Treasury Bonds (1.8%) as of Jan. 31, 2026.

PYCWX’s 3-year and 5-year annualized returns are 4.4% and 0.4%, respectively. Its net expense ratio is 0.78%. PYCWX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank #2.

Want key mutual fund info delivered straight to your inbox?

Zacks' free Fund Newsletter will brief you on top news and analysis, as well as top-performing mutual funds, each week. Get it free >>