US News & World Report: Baird Aggregate Bond Fund Among Best for Retirement

A September 8 U.S. News & World Report article featured Baird Aggregate Bond Fund (BAGIX) as one of the best mutual funds for retirement. The article cites the fund’s focus on risk control and investment discipline.

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Performance data quoted represents past performance. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Investment return and principal value of an investment in the fund will fluctuate so that an investor’s shares when redeemed may be worth more or less than their original cost. The fund’s current performance may be lower or higher than the performance data quoted. For performance current to the most recent month-end, please visit bairdfunds.com. Carefully consider a fund’s investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses before investing. For a current prospectus and summary prospectus, containing this and other information, visit bairdfunds.com. Read it carefully before investing.

The Baird Aggregate Bond Fund (investor class) returned 0.37% for 1 year, 3.31% for 5 years, 3.92% for 10 years and 5.04% since inception (9/29/2000) as of June 30, 2021. Its expense ratio is 0.55%.

Fixed income is generally considered to be a more conservative investment than stocks, but bonds and other fixed income investments still carry a variety of risk such as interest rate risk, regulatory risk, credit risk, inflation risk, call risk, default risk, political risk, tax policy risk and liquidity risk. In a rising interest rate environment, the value of fixed-income securities generally decline and conversely, in a falling interest rate environment, the value of fixed income securities generally increase. Municipal securities investments are not appropriate for all investors, especially those taxed at lower rates. Most corporate bonds are debentures, meaning they are not secured by collateral. Investors in such bonds must assume not only interest rate risk but also credit risk, the chance that the corporate issuer will default on its debt obligations. Corporate bonds are typically considered more risky than government bonds. Ratings are measured on a scale that ranges from AAA or Aaa (highest) to D or C (lowest). Investment grade investments are those rated from highest down to BBB- or Baa3.