Biggest Bond Fund Ratings Changes

Investors are not advised to trade their government bond funds for high-yield offerings. Not yet, at least.

But the action of funds tracked by TheStreet.com Ratings with the biggest ratings grade changes suggests an incipient shift in sentiment in the bond market away from the safety of government funds. The market seems to have taken at least a quick sideways glance toward the high-yield side of the bond market.

The five high-yield bond funds in the top listing of the accompanying table achieved the greatest recent ratings grade improvements among the fixed-income funds tracked by TheStreet.com Ratings. But the improvements represented only modest improvements from "sell-recommended" grades in the "D" and "E" ranges to the middling "C" range, which equates with "hold" recommendations. ...