Website Feedback

Use this form to give us your feedback or report any problems you experienced finding information on our Website.

* Indicates Required Fields

Website Feedback

Thank you for providing feedback.

For Financial Investoraccs
 
| |
loading...

Short Duration Tax Free Fund (LSDAX) - Class A

Fund Finder

What is the Short Duration Tax Free Fund?

Goal & Strategy

The goal of this Fund is tax-exempt income through investing primarily in short-term investment grade municipal securities. This Fund seeks to provide the investor with federal tax-exempt income, while limiting exposure to interest-rate risk.

Fund Basics

 
Ticker LSDAX
CUSIP 543912778
Fund Number 2074
Inception Date 12/31/2008
YTD Returns at NAV (as of 05/23/2013) 0.66%
Dividend Frequency Monthly
(Daily Accrual)
Expense Ratio (as of 04/30/2013)
Gross 0.70%
Net 0.63%
Lipper Category Avg. 0.74%
Total Net Assets (as of 04/30/2013) $2.64 B
Number of Issues (as of 04/30/2013) 452
Minimum Initial Investment $1,000
Maximum Offering Price (MOP) - Returns with sales charges reflect a maximum sales charge of 2.25%.
Yield(as of 05/23/2013)
Dividend Yield Subsidized1 Unsubsidized2
NAV 1.32% 1.25%
MOP 1.29% 1.22%
30-Day Standardized Yield (as of 04/30/2013) 0.77%

Price(as of 05/23/2013)
  Price ($) Change ($) Change (%)
NAV 15.93 -0.01 -0.06
MOP 16.30 -0.01 -0.06
52-Week High & Low at NAV ($)
High (11/16/2012) 16.00
Low (12/20/2012) 15.90
In absence of the fee waiver, yields shown would have been lower. Yields for other share classes will vary.

How has the Fund Performed?

Average Annual Returns

(as of 04/30/2013)
  YTD (%) 1-YR (%) 3-YR (%) 5-YR (%) 10-YR (%) Since
Inception (%)
NAV
Lipper Category Avg. 0.50 1.14 1.63    -    -    -
Index 0.33 0.77 1.13    -    - 1.71
MOP -1.51 -0.52 1.80    -    - 2.85
Expense Ratio Gross0.70% Net0.63%
  YTD (%) 1-YR (%) 3-YR (%) 5-YR (%) 10-YR (%) Since
Inception (%)
NAV 0.54 1.95 2.61    -    - 3.40
Lipper Category Avg. 0.36 1.27 1.67    -    -    -
Index 0.28 0.79 1.18    -    - 1.73
MOP -1.74 -0.37 1.84    -    - 2.84
Expense Ratio Gross0.70% Net0.63%
The performance quoted represents past performance, which is no indication of future results. Current performance may be higher or lower than the performance data quoted. Returns shown include the reinvestment of all distributions. Returns shown at net asset value do not reflect the current maximum sales charge, had the sales charge been included, returns would have been lower. The investment return and principal value of an investment will fluctuate so that shares, on any given day or when redeemed, may be worth more or less than the original cost. Therefore, there can be no assurance of future results.

Why This Fund?

Role in Portfolio

A supporting player that provides investors with exposure to a nationally invested shorter term municipal bond portfolio that potentially delivers attractive income free from federal taxation.

Key Advantages

Experience
Provides investors with exposure to an experienced investment team.

Research
Focuses on in-depth credit research to select shorter term securities that avoid federal income tax.

The value of your investment will change as interest rates fluctuate and in response to market movements. When interest rates fall, the prices of debt securities tend to rise, and when interest rates rise, the prices of debt securities are likely to decline.

How is the Fund Currently Positioned?

(as of 03/29/2013)
  • We favor a barbelled structure that combines money market securities and three- to five-year maturity bonds rather than a bulleted structure.
  • We continue to have a sizable weighting in variable rate demand notes due to relatively attractive yields. In addition, these securities are always priced at par and, therefore, do not have duration risk.
  • We have been increasing the weighting in floating rate notes, whose coupons adjust accordingly as short-term rates fluctuate. This characteristic provides price stability and a viable alternative when selectively reducing exposure to variable rate demand notes.
  • Relative benchmark-duration exposure is managed to reduce interest rate sensitivity relative to the portfolio's benchmark, the Barclays 1 Year Municipal Bond Index.
  • We have a slight overweight in lower quality investment-grade bonds relative to the benchmark due to attractive credit spreads.
  • Two of the largest sector overweights, compared to the benchmark, are in health care and industrial development revenue/corporate-backed bonds.
The Fund's portfolio is actively managed and may change significantly over time.

The credit qualities of securities in the portfolio are assigned by a nationally recognized statistical rating organization (NRSRO), such as Standard & Poor's, Moody's, or Fitch, as an indication of an issuer's creditworthiness. Ratings range from 'AAA' (highest) to 'D' (lowest). Bonds rated 'BBB' or above are considered investment grade. Credit ratings 'BB' and below are lower-rated securities (junk bonds). High-yielding, non-investment-grade bonds (junk bonds) involve higher risks than investment-grade bonds. Adverse conditions may affect the issuer's ability to pay interest and principal on these securities.

RELATED CONTENT

Investment Team

Team Leaders
Daniel S. Solender, CFA
Partner
Years Experience:  27
Daniel T. Vande Velde
Partner
Years Experience:  23
Supported By
14 Investment Professionals
10 Years Avg. Industry Experience
Years experience refers to industry experience.