The April issue of our Bond Fund Intelligence, which will be sent to subscribers Wednesday a.m., features the articles, "Worldwide BF Assets Jump to $16.7 Tril., Led by US & China," which reviews the latest global bond fund statistics from ICI; and "Bond Fund Symposium '26: Senior PM Perspectives," which highlights a panel from our recent fixed-income conference in Boston. BFI also recaps the latest Bond Fund News and includes our Crane BFI Indexes, which show that bond fund returns fell hard in March while yields jumped. We excerpt from the new issue below. (Contact us if you'd like to see our latest Bond Fund Intelligence and BFI XLS spreadsheet, or our Bond Fund Portfolio Holdings data.)
BFI's lead article states, "Bond fund assets worldwide increased in the latest quarter to $16.66 trillion, led higher by the four largest bond fund markets -- the U.S., Luxembourg, China and Ireland. We review the ICI's 'Worldwide Regulated Open-End Fund Assets and Flows, Fourth Quarter 2025' release and statistics below."
It continues, "ICI's report says, 'Worldwide regulated open-end fund assets, excluding funds of funds, increased 3.6% to $87.96 trillion at the end of the fourth quarter of 2025.... The Investment Company Institute compiles worldwide regulated open-end fund statistics on behalf of the International Investment Funds Association (IIFA).'"
Our "Symposium" article states, "We recently hosted our latest `Crane's Bond Fund Symposium in Boston, which brings together ultra-short bond fund managers and securities issuers. A panel titled, 'Senior Portfolio Manager Perspectives,' featured J.P. Morgan Asset Management's Dave Martucci, BlackRock's Richard Mejzak and UBS AM's Dave Rothweiler." (Note: Crane Data subscribers and Attendees may access the conference binder, Powerpoints and recordings via our 'Bond Fund Symposium 2026 Download Center.')
It continues, "Rothweiler comments, 'Well, we were just chatting before, every time we have this gathering in March, there's something going on, whether it’s a bank crisis, COVID <b:>`_…. I’m getting good exercise, walking back to my room for calls…. Just looking at something like, the one-to-three corporate OIS, we’re … still not to the level we were during the tariff tantrum. `But if you put on top of that the curve backing up ... Put that together, a lot of stress, more vol. At the same time, I see some opportunity in that as well, buying other things, looking at names that were basically very rich. I think industrials, AA credit. You get a market move like this and it gives you an opportunity to add to or diversify your portfolio more in that sense, those kinds of things.'"
Our first News brief, "Returns Plunge, Yields Jump in March," states, "Bond fund returns fell for the first time in 8 months in March while yields rose. Our BFI Total Index fell 1.31% over 1-month and rose 4.73% over 12 months. (Money funds rose 3.96% over 1-year as measured by our Crane 100 Index.) The BFI 100 decreased 1.53% in March and rose 4.86% over 12 mos. Our BFI Conservative Ultra-Short Index was up 0.12% over 1-month and 4.34% for 1-year; Ultra-Shorts rose 0.00% and 4.33%. Short-Term lost 0.64% and 4.40%, and Intm-Term fell 1.76% in March and rose 4.77% over 12 mos. BFI’s Long-Term Index was down 2.21% and up 4.22%. High Yield fell 0.92% in March and rose 6.30% over 12 months."
A second News brief, "Bloomberg on Active Fixed Income ETFs,' states, "The summary says, 'In a recent episode of Bloomberg's Inside Active podcast, Jeff Johnson, Vanguard head of U.S. fixed income product, sat down with host David Cohne to discuss the growing momentum behind active fixed income ETFs -- fueled by investor demand for transparency, flexibility, and skilled management in a higher-yield environment.' Johnson comments, 'We're seeing advisors increasingly adopt active ETFs to capture a team's best ideas.'"
Another brief says, "Weitz Debuts Short Duration Bond ETF. The press release, 'Weitz Investment Management Expands ETF Platform with Launch of Short Duration Bond ETF (WSDB),' tells us, 'Weitz Investment Management … announced the launch of the Weitz Short Duration Bond ETF (WSDB), an actively managed strategy designed to seek income while maintaining lower interest rate sensitivity. The ETF began trading on April 1, 2026.... Current [Weitz] offerings include the Short Duration Income Fund (WEFIX) and Core Plus Income Fund (WCPBX), along with the Weitz Core Plus Bond ETF (WCPB) and Weitz Multisector Bond ETF (WMSB), providing a range of solutions across duration and credit exposures. The Short Duration strategy has been managed by Tom Carney.'"
A BFI sidebar, "Federated: Munis on a Roll," says, "Federated Hermes posted a video titled, 'Munis on a roll,' which featured Ann Ferentino and Kyle Stewart. Stewart says, 'Ann, first of all, congratulations on your promotion to the head of the muni bond group.... I look forward to the new chapter together. But let me shift to the business at hand. Tax season is right around the corner. Investors could be considering ways to limit their tax liabilities. I think muni bonds are a great option. How would you characterize the current state of the muni industry?'"
Finally, another sidebar, "BF Expenses Down to 0.36%," states, "The Investment Company Institute published a press release entitled, 'Mutual Fund and ETF Fees Remained Near Historic Lows in 2025,' along with the report, 'Trends in the Expenses and Fees of Funds, 2025.' The full report tells us, 'On an asset-weighted basis, average expense ratios incurred by mutual fund investors have fallen substantially over the past 29 years.... In 1996, equity mutual fund investors incurred expense ratios of 1.04%, on average, or $1.04 for every $100 in assets. By 2025, that average had fallen to 0.40%. Average expense ratios for hybrid and bond mutual funds, as well as money market funds, have also declined meaningfully since 1996.'"
