Fund Evaluator:
Artisan High Income Institutional (APHFX)
Follow This Fund
Best Performing in High Yield Bond Over the Last Year
| 11.1% | Fidelity Capital & Income (FAGIX) |
| 10.2% | Fidelity Advisor Capital & Income Z (FIQTX) |
| 6.6% | American Century High-Yield Y (AHYLX) |
| 6.5% | Fidelity Advisor High Income Z (FGUMX) |
| 6.4% | Fidelity High Income (SPHIX) |
Fund Details
Artisan High Income Institutional Overview
Artisan High Income Institutional (APHFX) is an actively managed Taxable Bond High Yield Bond fund. Artisan Partners Funds launched the fund in 2016.
The investment seeks to provide total return through a combination of current income and capital appreciation. Under normal circumstances, the fund will invest primarily in instruments that are rated, at the time of purchase, below investment grade (below BBB- by Standard & Poor's Rating Services ("S&P") or Fitch, Inc. ("Fitch") or below Baa3 by Moody's Investors Service, Inc. ("Moody's")), or comparably rated by another nationally recognized statistical rating organization ("NRSRO"), or unrated but determined by Artisan Partners to be of comparable quality.
About Artisan High Income Institutional (APHFX)
There are 1 members of the management team with an average tenure of 12.46 years: Bryan Krug (2014). Management tenure is more important for actively managed funds than passive index funds.
The fund has 2 primary benchmarks: ICE BofA US High Yield TR USD index with a weighting of 100% and ICE BofA US Broad Market TR USD index with a weighting of 100%. Artisan High Income Institutional has 283 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 23.3% of the fund’s assets. The fund meets the SEC requirement of being classified as a diversified fund. The fund is not considered to have an ESG focus with its investment selection and management.
Artisan High Income Institutional is part of the Fixed Income global asset class and is within the Taxable Bond fund group. Artisan High Income Institutional has 20.1% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 0.4%. There is 0.0% allocated to foreign stock, and 0.0% is allocated to preferred stocks. The bond allocation as a percentage of total assets is 92.4% (72.4% domestic bond, 20.1% foreign bond and 0.0% convertible bond). Artisan High Income Institutional has 7.1% of the portfolio in cash.
Assets Under Management
The fund has $6 billion in total assets, which is above the $550 million average for the High Yield Bond category. Normally, lower assets under management translates to higher average expense ratios, and greater total assets are desired. However, for some investment categories, such as small-cap investing, it may be difficult for the manager to fully employ the desired active strategy if assets grow too large or too quickly.
APHFX Performance and Fees
The expense ratio measures how much of a fund’s assets are used for administrative expenses and operating expenses, including adviser fees and fees for the transfer agent and custodial services. The Artisan High Income Institutional expense ratio is above average compared to funds in the High Yield Bond category. Artisan High Income Institutional has an expense ratio of 0.70%, which is 24% lower than its category average, making the fund expense ratio grade a B. While it is difficult to predict returns, it is known that high annual expense ratios reduce your rate of return, and excessive fees are difficult to overcome. Active management normally comes with higher expense ratios than passive index management. Certain investment categories such as small company and foreign also normally have higher expense ratios. It is best to compare fund expense ratios against the category averages for meaningful assessments.
High portfolio turnover can translate to higher expenses and lower aftertax returns. A portfolio turnover rate cannot be currently calculated for Artisan High Income Institutional. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 73% for the High Yield Bond category.
Recently, in the month of August 2026, Artisan High Income Institutional returned 0.8%, which earned it a grade of D, as the High Yield Bond category had an average return of 0.9%. The letter grades of A, B, C, D and F are based upon relative rankings within the investment category. A grade of A, for example, would indicate that the return is in the highest 20% for that time period compared to all funds in that category.
Artisan High Income Institutional has a trailing yield of 7.07%, which is above the 6.24% category average. The fund normally distributes its income monthly and its capital gains annually.
It’s natural to seek the best-performing investments, but you must consider the relationship between risk and return and the impact of costs and taxes on your realized returns.
Artisan High Income Institutional Grades
Year to date, the fund has returned 2.4%, 0.2 percentage points worse than the category, which translates into a grade of C. The fund has returned 4.1% over the past year (grade of D), 8.5% over the past three years (grade of B) and 5.0% per year over the past five years (grade of A) and 6.4% per year over the past 10 years (grade of A).
For more mutual fund grades, analysis and screening tools to help your investment discovery, join AAII for a $2, full-access trial. Learn more here: https://invest.aaii.com/membership.
Otherwise, for more information about Artisan High Income Institutional, including its riskiness, submit your email to unlock the rest of the article.
Gain access to exclusive AAII member-only content.
APHFX Trailing NAV Total Returns Data as of 8/31/26
| Last Month |
Last Quarter |
Ann'l. 1Yr |
Ann'l. 3Yr |
Ann'l. 5Yr |
Ann'l. 10Yr |
|
| APHFX Return (NAV) | 0.8% | 1.4% | 4.1% | 8.5% | 5.0% | 6.4% |
| APHFX Grade | D | A | D | B | A | A |
| +/- Category | -0.1% | 0.6% | -0.5% | 0.7% | 1.2% | 1.7% |
| High Yield Bond Avg | 0.9% | 0.8% | 4.6% | 7.8% | 3.8% | 4.7% |
| APHFX Tax Cost Ratio | na | na | 2.8% | 2.9% | 3.0% | na |
APHFX Annual NAV Total ReturnsData as of 8/31/26
| 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | |
| APHFX Return (NAV) | 2.4% | 8.4% | 8.5% | 16.0% | -9.5% | 6.4% | 10.2% | 14.2% | -1.4% | 8.9% | 14.5% |
| APHFX Grade | C | B | B | A | B | A | A | C | A | A | B |
| +/- Category | -0.2% | 0.5% | 0.9% | 4.1% | 0.5% | 1.3% | 5.0% | 1.2% | 1.3% | 2.2% | 1.1% |
| High Yield Bond Avg | 2.5% | 7.9% | 7.6% | 11.9% | -10.0% | 5.1% | 5.3% | 13.0% | -2.6% | 6.7% | 13.4% |
| Risk Measures | |
| Standard Deviation: | 3.9% |
| Total Risk Index: | 0.32 - Low |
| Category Risk Index: | 0.96 - Below Average |
| Category Risk Grade: | B (25% Rank) |
| Beta: | 0.52 |
| R-Squared: | 58% |
| Leveraged Fund: | No |
| Inverse Fund: | No |
| Portfolio Characteristics | |
| Equity Investment Style: | na |
| Bond Investment Style: | High Quality Limited Sensitivity |
| Yield: | 7.1% |
| Dividend Distribution: | Monthly |
| Cap Gains Distribution: | Annually |
| Total Assets: | $11393 Mil |
| Fund Total Assets: | $6,791 Mil |
| Share Class Type: | Inst |
| Portfolio Turnover: | na |
Management Team
| Number of Managers: 1 | |||
| Longest Tenure: 12.5 years | |||
| Average Tenure: 12.5 years | |||
| Managers (Year): Krug Bryan (2014) | |||
Portfolio Composition (as of 6/30/26)
| # of Holdings: | 283 |
| % in Top 10 Holdings: | 23.3% |
| Fund is Non-Diversified: | No |
| % in Foreign Issues: | 20.1% |
Portfolio Allocation |
|
| Domestic Stock: | 0.4% |
| Foreign Stock: | 0.0% |
| Preferred Stock: | 0.0% |
| Domestic Bond: | 72.4% |
| Foreign Bond: | 20.1% |
| Convertible Bond: | 0.0% |
| Other: | 0.0% |
| Cash: | 7.1% |
Purchase Information
| Fund Family: | Artisan Partners Funds |
| Phone Number: | 800-344-1770 |
| Website: | www.artisanfunds.com |
| Status: | Closed |
| Inception Date: | October 3, 2016 |
| Min. Initial Purchase: | $1,000,000 |
| Min. Initial IRA Purchase: | $ 0 |
| True No-Load: | Yes |
| Front Load Maximum: | 0.00% |
| Deferred Charge Maximum: | 0.00% |
| Redemption Charge Maximum: | 2.00% |
| 12b-1 Fee: | na |
Expenses and Fees | |
| Expense Ratio (%): | 0.70% ( Rating : Above Avg ) |
| Category Average Expense Ratio (%): | 0.92% |
| Share Class: | Artisan High Income Advisor |
| Min. Subsequent Purchase: | $ 0 |
| Min. Subsequent IRA Purchase: | $ 0 |
