Investment objective & strategy
As of April 29, 2025 · prospectusObjective. The Venerable Strategic Bond Fund (the "Fund") seeks to maximize total return while investing to obtain the average duration specified below.
Strategy. The Fund invests, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of its net assets (plus borrowings for investment purposes) in debt and fixed income securities. The Adviser has engaged Franklin Advisers, Inc. ("FT") to provide the day-to-day management of the Fund's portfolio pursuant to investment guidelines provided by the Adviser. Although the Fund may invest in debt and fixed income securities of any maturity, under normal market circumstances, the target dollar-weighted average effective duration for the Fund is expected to range within 20% of the average duration of the domestic bond market as a whole as estimated by FT based on the Bloomberg US Aggregate Bond Index. Effective duration seeks to measure the expected sensitivity of market price to changes in … The Fund invests, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of its net assets (plus borrowings for investment purposes) in debt and fixed income securities. The Adviser has engaged Franklin Advisers, Inc. ("FT") to provide the day-to-day management of the Fund's portfolio pursuant to investment guidelines provided by the Adviser. Although the Fund may invest in debt and fixed income securities of any maturity, under normal market circumstances, the target dollar-weighted average effective duration for the Fund is expected to range within 20% of the average duration of the domestic bond market as a whole as estimated by FT based on the Bloomberg US Aggregate Bond Index. Effective duration seeks to measure the expected sensitivity of market price to changes in interest rates, taking into account the anticipated effects of structural complexities (for example, some bonds can be prepaid by the issuer). The Fund presently intends to limit its investments to U.S. dollar denominated securities and currently anticipates that it will generally only purchase debt securities rated, at the time of purchase, at least Baa3 by Moody's Investors Service or BBB- by S&P Global Ratings, or have an equivalent rating by a nationally recognized statistical rating organization, or are of comparable quality if unrated (as determined by the sub-adviser). These securities are known as "investment grade securities." The Fund may invest in securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government, non-U.S. governments, or by any U.S. government or non-U.S. government agency or instrumentality. The Fund may invest up to 25% of its total assets in the securities of non-U.S. issuers, including emerging market securities, and may invest a substantial portion of its assets in mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities. The Fund may purchase loans and other direct indebtedness, including bank loans (also called "leveraged loans"). The Fund may also enter into various exchange-traded and over-the-counter derivative transactions for both hedging and non-hedging purposes, including for purposes of enhancing returns. These derivative transactions include futures, options and swaps. Derivatives that provide exposure to debt and fixed income securities may be used to satisfy the Fund's policy to invest, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of its net assets (plus borrowings for investment purposes) in debt and fixed income securities. In particular, the Fund may use interest rate swaps, credit default swaps (including buying and selling credit default swaps on individual securities and/or baskets of securities), options (including options on credit default swaps) and futures contracts. Other instruments may also be used from time to time.
Top holdings
As of March 31, 2026 · N-PORT| Security | Ticker | Value | % of fund |
|---|---|---|---|
| US TREASURY N/B | — | $113.09M | 6.54% |
| US TREASURY N/B | — | $95.84M | 5.54% |
| US TREASURY N/B | — | $83.87M | 4.85% |
| FNCL 6.5 4/26 | — | $80.69M | 4.67% |
| FNCL 4.5 4/26 | — | $47.66M | 2.76% |
| US TREASURY N/B | — | $40.99M | 2.37% |
| State Street Navigator Securities Lending Portfolio II | GVMXX | $39.61M | 2.29% |
| US TREASURY N/B | — | $38.23M | 2.21% |
| Freddie Mac Pool | — | $37.79M | 2.19% |
| FNCL 5.5 4/26 | — | $36.52M | 2.11% |
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. |
|---|---|---|
| LVIP Franklin Templeton Core Bond Fund | 24% | 0.37% |
| Putnam VT Income Fund | 19% | 0.60% |
| Putnam Morgtage Securities Fund · PGSIX, PGSBX, PGVCX, PGVRX, PUSYX | 16% | 0.51% |
Advisers
| Firm | Role |
|---|---|
| Franklin Advisers, Inc. | Sub-adviser |
| Venerable Investment Advisers, LLC | Adviser |
Footnotes
- Expense ratio as of April 29, 2025, from the fund's prospectus.
- Net assets and holdings count as of March 31, 2026, from the fund's N-PORT filing.
- Total return for calendar year 2025, before tax and after fund expenses. Computed by compounding the twelve monthly total returns the fund reported in its SEC N-PORT filings for 2025 (the latest prospectus does not yet chart this year).
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