Investment objective & strategy
As of July 28, 2025 · prospectusObjective. Total return.
Strategy. Under normal market conditions, the Fund invests at least 80% of its net assets in U.S. fixed income securities, and in derivatives and other instruments that have economic characteristics and provide investment exposure similar to U.S. fixed income securities. U.S. fixed income securities include debt securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government, its agencies or instrumentalities and political sub-divisions (including inflation index linked securities and municipal bonds); U.S. corporate debt securities, including debentures, bonds (including zero coupon bonds), bankers acceptances (issued by industrial, utility, finance, commercial banking or bank holding company organizations), convertible and non-convertible notes, commercial paper, certificates of deposits, and freely transferable promissory notes; mortgage-backed securities; and asset-backed securities. U.S. fixed income securities also include securities included … Under normal market conditions, the Fund invests at least 80% of its net assets in U.S. fixed income securities, and in derivatives and other instruments that have economic characteristics and provide investment exposure similar to U.S. fixed income securities. U.S. fixed income securities include debt securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government, its agencies or instrumentalities and political sub-divisions (including inflation index linked securities and municipal bonds); U.S. corporate debt securities, including debentures, bonds (including zero coupon bonds), bankers acceptances (issued by industrial, utility, finance, commercial banking or bank holding company organizations), convertible and non-convertible notes, commercial paper, certificates of deposits, and freely transferable promissory notes; mortgage-backed securities; and asset-backed securities. U.S. fixed income securities also include securities included in the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Index. The Fund invests in U.S. dollar denominated investment grade fixed income securities. Investment grade fixed income securities are securities that are rated at the time of purchase in the top four ratings categories by one or more independent rating organizations such as S&P Global Ratings (S&P ) (rated BBB- or better) or Moodys Investors Service (Moodys) (rated Baa3 or higher) or, if unrated, are determined to be of comparable quality by the sub-advisor. The Fund may invest in variable and floating rate securities. The Fund may also invest a portion of its assets in cash or cash equivalents. The sub-advisor intends to take an active approach to duration management and does not track the duration of the Funds benchmark index. The Fund may invest in securities of any maturity or duration. Under normal conditions, the portfolio managers typically seek to maintain a dollar-weighted average effective duration for the Funds portfolio, including derivatives, of 1 to 10 years. The dollar-weighted average effective duration of the Funds portfolio may, however, exceed this range materially from time to time depending on the sub-advisors valuation analysis and macro-economic outlook. A mortgage-backed security is an interest in a pool of mortgage loans made by and packaged or pooled together by banks, mortgage lenders, various governmental agencies and other financial institutions for sale to investors to finance purchases of homes, commercial buildings and other real estate. The Funds investments in mortgage-backed securities include securities that are issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government, its agencies or instrumentalities, which include mortgage pass-through securities representing interests in pools of mortgage loans issued or guaranteed by the Government National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae), the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae), and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac). Securities issued by different government agencies or instrumentalities have different levels of credit support. The Fund may also invest in other types of mortgage securities that may be issued or guaranteed by private issuers including commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) and collateralized mortgage obligations (CMOs). The Fund may purchase or sell mortgage-backed securities on a delayed delivery or forward commitment basis through the to-be-announced (TBA) market. With TBA transactions, the particular securities to be delivered must meet specified terms and conditions. The Fund may also invest in restricted securities including Rule 144A securities. An asset-backed security is a security backed by loans, leases, and other receivables. The Fund may invest in collateralized loan obligations (CLOs). For purposes of pursuing its investment goal, the Fund may enter into various interest rate and credit-related derivatives, principally U.S. Treasury futures and credit default swaps (including credit default index swaps). The use of these derivative transactions may allow the Fund to obtain exposures to select interest rates, durations or credit risks. These derivatives may be used to enhance Fund returns, increase liquidity, gain exposure to certain instruments or markets in a more efficient or less expensive way and/or hedge risks associated with its other portfolio investments. Derivatives that have economic characteristics and provide investment exposure similar to U.S. fixed income securities will be counted towards the Funds 80% investment policy. The portfolio managers investment process is top-down, macro-economic driven and value oriented. Their buy discipline is highlighted by patience and conviction. The portfolio managers develop a viewpoint on the business cycle in conjunction with a value-based analysis of U.S. dollar-denominated, investment-grade fixed income securities to determine the Funds strategy duration, sector and quality exposures over time. Security selection is determined through analysis of both top-down, macroeconomic conditions as well as bottom-up, fundamental analysis within the context of their value-oriented framework. In analyzing macroeconomic conditions, the portfolio managers take into account things such as geopolitical and demographic factors that might impact the overall economy. This framework informs the broad investment themes of the portfolio and helps the portfolio managers determine duration and sector allocations. Bottom-up, fundamental analysis is utilized to help identify specific securities or issues that might be invested in or should be avoided. The portfolio managers focus their investments on a limited number of securities that they believe represent attractive value, rather than invest the portfolio across a large spectrum of securities in attempt to replicate an index-like distribution. If they do not find value in a particular sector, industry or security, they will not invest in it. The portfolio managers utilize both qualitative and quantitative criteria (including proprietary quantitative models) as part of the portfolio construction process, including in determining that an investment represents an attractive value. An investment offers an attractive value if the portfolio managers, through their analysis, have determined that the investment is mispriced and trading below what current or expected economic conditions warrant. Quantitative models are proprietary systems that rely on mathematical computations to identify investment opportunities. The portfolio managers sell fixed income securities or sectors when they no longer meet their value criteria. This could be due to the impact of the business cycle or fundamental changes affecting yield, spread or price. For example, they typically sell corporate bonds and mortgage-backed securities when spreads narrow significantly or when changing fundamentals introduce risks outweighing potential rewards. In some cases, they may modify the characteristics or risk profile of a sector instead of completely eliminating exposure, such as by shortening duration. The Fund anticipates engaging in active and frequent trading to achieve its investment goal.
Top holdings
As of March 31, 2026 · N-PORT| Security | Ticker | Value | % of fund |
|---|---|---|---|
| U.S.Treasury Notes | — | $2.69M | 19.89% |
| US TREASURY N/B | — | $1.71M | 12.66% |
| U.S. Treasury Notes | — | $1.63M | 12.06% |
| US TREASURY N/B | — | $799.26K | 5.90% |
| US TREASURY N/B | — | $564.93K | 4.17% |
| U.S. Treasury Floating Rate Notes | — | $440.01K | 3.25% |
| Ginnie Mae II Pool | — | $342.55K | 2.53% |
| G2 MB0814 | — | $340.09K | 2.51% |
| G2 MB0686 | — | $337.84K | 2.50% |
| G2 MB0623 | — | $336.22K | 2.48% |
Portfolio moves
Dec 31, 2025 → Mar 31, 2026How many positions this fund opened, exited, grew, trimmed, or left unchanged between its two most recent N-PORT snapshots — net changes between point-in-time reports, not a trade log.
Similar funds
Funds whose portfolios most overlap this one, by weight| Fund | Overlap | Net exp. |
|---|---|---|
| VY BrandyWineGLOBAL - Bond Portfolio · VGSBX | 65% | 0.58% |
| WisdomTree Floating Rate Treasury Fund · USFR | 35% | 0.15% |
| BrandywineGLOBAL - Global Opportunities Bond Fund · GOBAX, GOBCX, GOBFX, LBORX, GOBIX, GOBSX, LGOCX | 34% | 0.55% |
Advisers
| Firm | Role |
|---|---|
| Franklin Advisers, Inc. | Adviser |
| Brandywine Global Investment Management, LLC | Sub-adviser |
Footnotes
- Net assets and holdings count as of March 31, 2026, from the fund's N-PORT filing.
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