Fixed income funds realized a return of positive 0.06% on average during the fourth quarter of 2021, marking the ninth positive quarterly performance over the last 12 quarters. Tax-exempt bond funds (+0.69%) outperformed taxable bond funds (-0.17%) in quarterly performance for the second time this year.
In total, 28 of the 51 Lipper fixed income classifications ended the quarter with plus-side performance, which is up from 17 last quarter. For tax-exempt bond funds, 19 of the 20 classifications appreciated throughout the quarter. Only nine of the 31 taxable bond fund classifications finished Q4 2021 in the black.
With inflation growing as the market’s top concern and multiple interest rate hikes on the horizon, I recap the key economic events in Q4 2021 and highlight how various Lipper fixed income classifications performed.
Fourth Quarter Highlights:
- Fixed income funds posted a return of positive 0.06% on average during the fourth quarter of 2021.
- Tax-exempt bond funds (+0.69%) outperformed taxable bond funds (-0.17%) in quarterly performance for only the fourth time in the last three years.
- The top three Lipper classifications over the quarter were Inflation Protected Bond Funds (+1.73%), General U.S. Treasury Funds (+1.14%), and High Yield Municipal Debt Funds (+1.14%).
- The bottom three performing classifications were Emerging Markets Local Currency Debt Funds (-1.85%), Emerging Markets Hard Currency Debt Funds (-1.70%), and International Income Funds (-1.10%).
Click here or the Download Full Report link in the upper right-hand column of this page to download the Fourth Quarter 2021 FundMarket Insight Report: Inflation Protected, Tax-Exempt, and High Yield Bond Funds End Year on High Note
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