Best-Performing Bond Mutual Funds

We reviewed some of the best-performing open-end bond mutual funds for the month of April. These funds were standouts in their categories, which are ranked by the average one-month total return for each group.

Of the 18 different types of fixed-income funds listed below, "corporate - high yield" bond funds top the list, averaging a one month return of 3.07% for the 151 similarly targeted funds.

The best-performing member of this group is the E- rated Oppenheimer Champion Income A Fund(OPCHX Quote - Cramer on OPCHX - Stock Picks) that gained 8.24% in April. The fund has a net expense ratio of 0.99%.

The first and third largest holdings, at 3.9% and 2.7% of assets, are in two year and 10 year US Treasury futures. Corporate debt holdings from Sprint Nextel(S Quote - Cramer on S - Stock Picks), Fannie Mae(FNM Quote - Cramer on FNM - Stock Picks), HBOS(HBOOY Quote - Cramer on HBOOY - Stock Picks) and HSBC Fin Cap Trust IX(HBC Quote - Cramer on HBC - Stock Picks) are also top holdings of Oppenheimer Champion Income.

The set of 33 loan participation bond funds ranked second averaging 2.68% in April. Representing the best of this group, the E rated Van Kampen Senior Loan Fund(VSLAX Quote - Cramer on VSLAX - Stock Picks) returned 4.14% for the period. The top security holdings include Tribune Company(TXA Quote - Cramer on TXA - Stock Picks), Univision Communications, Charter Communications(CHTR Quote - Cramer on CHTR - Stock Picks), Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios(MGM Quote - Cramer on MGM - Stock Picks) and Harrah's Entertainment.

Unlike the two funds noted above that have lost money over the last year, the B+ rated TCW Emerging Mkt Income N Fund(TGINX Quote - Cramer on TGINX - Stock Picks) has consistently generated respectable positive returns.

At year's end, the fund was invested in at least 20 different countries with Mexico at 12.9%, Brazil at 10.8%, Russia at 10%, Kazakhstan at 7.7% and Indonesia at 6.8% being the largest concentrations. The fund is managed by Luz Padilla, who has been with TCW Funds since 1994.

Best Performing Open-end Bond Mutual Funds by Objective for April
Objective	Obj 1 Month Avg %	Fund (Ticker) Rating	Total Return 1 Month %	Total Return 3 Months %	Total Return 1 Year %
Corporate - High Yield	3.07	Oppenheimer Champion Income A (OPCHX) E-	8.24	1.60	-5.28
Loan Participation	2.68	Van Kampen Senior Loan Fund (VSLAX) E	4.14	-2.02	-8.84
Emerging Market Income	1.26	TCW Emerging Mkt Income N (TGINX) B+	2.05	2.44	2.28
Municipal - Single State	1.10	Eaton Vance SC Muni A (EASCX) E-	3.96	-1.37	-4.80
Municipal - High Yield	1.07	Nuveen CA High Yield Muni Bd A (NCHAX) U	3.15	-2.57	-11.48
Municipal - Insured	1.03	Eaton Vance FL Plus Ins Muni Fd A (EAFIX) E-	3.71	-0.83	-2.65
Municipal - National	0.76	Eaton Vance National Muni A (EANAX) E-	4.96	-1.95	-6.51
Multi-Sector Bond	0.74	Franklin Strategic Income A (FRSTX) C+	1.88	1.99	4.80
General Bd - Short & Interm	0.47	Metropolitan West Alpha Trak 500 (MWATX) E-	6.11	-3.13	-12.85
General Bd - Long	0.43	Natixis Loomis Sayles Strat Inc A (NEFZX) C-	2.91	0.54	4.25
General Mortgage	0.16	PIMCO Intl StkPlus Tr Strat A (PIPAX) E	7.82	-0.45	-9.22
General Bd - Investment Grade	-0.09	Credit Suisse Commdty Retrn Str A (CRSAX) C	4.15	8.66	23.19
Corporate - Investment Grade	-0.33	Flag Investors Income Opportunity A (FLIOX) U	3.33	-1.11	-10.03
US Government/Agency	-0.38	T. Rowe Price GNMA Fd (PRGMX) A	0.09	0.57	6.61
US Government - Short & Interm	-0.43	Rydex Ser-Inv Govt Lg Bd Stgy A (RYAQX) E-	2.84	0.77	-7.32
Global Income	-0.88	First American High Inc A (FJSIX) D	3.97	2.06	-1.04
US Government - Long	-1.29	WesMark Govt Bond Fund (WMBDX) A	0.24	1.08	7.00
US Treasury	-1.54	Direxion 10 Year Note Bear 2.5X Fd (DXKSX) E-	6.34	-0.35	-18.17
Source: TheStreet.com Ratings

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