Bond Fund Leaders and Laggards

The fun had to end at some point. After a long bull run, the securities markets were pummeled in February as an Asian market swoon spread across international markets.

As a result, the nervousness and uncertainty in the securities markets triggered a flight to safety in the fixed-income market.

In our list of open-end bond fund leaders and laggards, five U.S. Treasury funds were joined by a U.S. long government bond fund in dominating the roster of top fixed-income performers.

An eyebrow-raiser on the fixed-income winners list was the (CCRSX)Credit Suisse Commodity Return Strategy Fund (CCRSX). In what appears a contradiction of its name, the fund recently reported holdings of 89% cash and equivalents and 11% bonds, which places it in the fixed-income category.

At the opposite end of the performance spectrum, seven loan participation funds dominated the losers' list, perhaps pushed a bit lower by horror stories of the subprime mortgage industry.

Two global income funds -- generally considered riskier than domestic fixed-income investments because of potential political and currency risks -- also appear on the fixed-income laggards list.

Note: Leveraged and "inverse" funds were not included in the leaders and laggards lists, because the proliferation of such funds would otherwise guarantee dominance of the lists to the exclusion of funds that excel or fail because of portfolio performance.

In addition, institutional funds with initial investment minimums of more than $25,000 were excluded.

Below is a list of the leaders and laggards among open-end fixed-income mutual funds as rated by TheStreet.com Ratings.

February 2007 Open-End Fixed-Income Mutual Fund Leaders & Laggards
Name	Objective	Feb. 2007 Return (%)	Year-to-Date Return (%)	12-MO. RET'N (%)	TSC Ratings Grade*
Fixed-Income Leaders
American Century Tgt Mat.-2025 Inv (BTTRX)	U.S. Treasury	4.76	3.03	1.59	C
Wasatch Hoisington U.S. Treasury (WHOSX)	U.S. Treasury	4.14	2.65	2.46	D+
American Century Tgt Mat.-2020 Inv (BTTTX)	U.S. Treasury	3.73	2.59	3.29	C
PIMCO Long Term U.S. Govt A (PFGAX)	U.S. Government - Long	3.60	2.50	3.74	E-
Credit Suisse Commdty Retrn Str A (CRSAX)	General Bd - Investment Grade	3.39	3.48	10.26	U
Vanguard Long-Term Inv Gr Inv (VWESX)	General Bd - Investment Grade	3.28	2.66	5.44	C-
Delaware Extended Duration Bd A (DEEAX)	Corporate - Investment Grade	3.13	2.90	7.78	D+
Federated USG Bond Fund (FEDBX)	U.S. Government - Long	3.01	2.19	4.56	D
Fidelity Spartan Lg-T Tre Bd In Inv (FLBIX)	U.S. Treasury	2.94	2.09	4.09	U
T. Rowe Price U.S. Treas Long (PRULX)	U.S. Treasury	2.92	2.18	3.63	D-
Fixed-Income Laggards
ING Principal Protection XI A (IXIAX)	Loan Participation	-0.58	0.00	6.13	U
ING Principal Protection VI A (VIPAX)	Loan Participation	-0.58	0.00	5.10	E+
ING Principal Protection IX A (IXSAX)	Loan Participation	-0.58	0.00	6.18	U
ING Principal Protection V A (VVPAX)	Loan Participation	-0.59	0.00	5.34	E+
UBS Absolute Return Bond Fund A (BNRAX)	Global Income	-0.69	-0.20	4.12	U
ING Principal Protection X A (IPXAX)	Loan Participation	-0.77	-0.19	6.08	U
ING Principal Protection IV A (IVPAX)	Loan Participation	-0.83	-0.09	6.41	E+
STAAR Inv Trust Alt Categories Fund (N/A)	Global Income	-0.84	0.30	6.83	C
Azzad Ethical Income Fund (AEIFX)	General Bd - Short & Interm	-0.91	-0.73	3.02	D
BlackRock Core Prin Prot Inv A (MDPWX)	Loan Participation	-1.82	0.68	8.72	C
* "U" indicates that fund is currently unrated. NOTES: Includes funds with minimum initial investments of $25,000 or less. Leveraged & "inverse" funds not included. Source: TheStreet.com Ratings

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