Morningstar

An Upgraded Core Bond Fund Worth Investors' Time

An Upgraded Core Bond Fund Worth Investors' Time
Securities In This Article
Nuveen Core Plus Bond A
(TCBPX)

Brian Moriarty: TIAA-CREF Bond Plus fund was recently upgraded to Bronze from Neutral. The upgrade was driven by our recognition of the strong process, which led the fund to outperform in 2015 and 2016, two difficult and different years for bond funds.

Bill Martin has been lead manager here since August 2011, and is responsible for allocating the fund across a variety of fixed-income sectors. It can invest in everything from corporate bonds to Treasuries to mortgages, and also allocates 20% to 30% to so-called plus sectors. These are high-yield, bank loans, and emerging-markets debt.

This can make the fund riskier than some peers, but Martin has done a good job of dialing that risk up and down over time. For example, he entered 2015 very defensively positioned, which helped the fund outperform more than 70% of peers for the year. In early 2016, he rotated back into the risky plus sectors and rode the rebound for another strong year.

Add in below average fees, and this is a core fund worth investors' time.

More in Funds

A Not-So-Magnificent Third Quarter for Large-Growth Funds

Small- and mid-cap-value funds led the way during the quarter.
David Carey

3 ETFs Quietly Outperforming the Market

Don’t overlook these options.
Daniel Sotiroff

This New Active ETF Follows an Old Playbook

Jensen Quality Growth ETF offers a proven strategy and record in a new wrapper.
Dan Culloton

About the Author

Brian Moriarty

Associate Director, Fixed Income Strategies
More from Author

Brian Moriarty is an associate director, fixed-income strategies, for Morningstar Research Services LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Morningstar, Inc.

Before assuming his current role in 2015, Moriarty was a client solutions consultant for Morningstar Office, a practice and portfolio management system for independent financial advisors. Before joining Morningstar in 2013, he was a research assistant for DePaul University's religious studies department.

Moriarty holds a bachelor's degree in political science from Michigan State University and a bachelor's degree in Islamic world studies from DePaul University.

Sponsor Center