• Gives income investors a cost-effective way to seek to approximate the performance of the broad investment-grade bond market.
• Has an intermediate risk/reward profile and should offer a higher yield than less volatile short-term bond funds and a lower yield than longer-term funds.
• Yield and share price will vary with interest rate changes. If interest rates rise significantly from current levels, bond fund total returns will decline and may even turn negative in the short term.
• There is also a chance that one of the fund’s holdings will have its credit rating downgraded or will default.
