Fund Evaluator:

Virtus Newfleet Short Dur H Inc Instl Overview

Virtus Newfleet Short Dur H Inc Instl (ASHIX) is an actively managed Taxable Bond High Yield Bond fund. Virtus launched the fund in 2011.

The investment seeks a high level of current income with lower volatility than the broader high yield market. The fund seeks to achieve its investment objective by normally investing at least 80% of its net assets (plus borrowings made for investment purposes) in debt securities issued by public and private companies, which are rated below investment grade, while maintaining an average duration of less than three years, and in derivatives and other synthetic instruments that have economic characteristics similar to such debt securities.

About Virtus Newfleet Short Dur H Inc Instl (ASHIX)

There are 5 members of the management team with an average tenure of 4.02 years: Francesco Ossino (2022), Kyle Jennings (2022), Eric Hess (2022), William Eastwood (2022), David Albrycht (2022). Management tenure is more important for actively managed funds than passive index funds.

The fund has 2 primary benchmarks: Bloomberg US Agg Bond TR USD index with a weighting of 100% and ICE BofA 1-3Y BB US Cash Pay HY TR USD index with a weighting of 100%. Virtus Newfleet Short Dur H Inc Instl has 235 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 10.5% 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.

Virtus Newfleet Short Dur H Inc Instl is part of the Fixed Income global asset class and is within the Taxable Bond fund group. Virtus Newfleet Short Dur H Inc Instl has 9.3% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 0.0%. 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 98.5% (89.2% domestic bond, 9.3% foreign bond and 0.0% convertible bond). Virtus Newfleet Short Dur H Inc Instl has 1.6% of the portfolio in cash.

Assets Under Management

The fund has $540 million in total assets, which is below the $545 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.

ASHIX 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 Virtus Newfleet Short Dur H Inc Instl expense ratio is above average compared to funds in the High Yield Bond category. Virtus Newfleet Short Dur H Inc Instl has an expense ratio of 0.60%, which is 35% lower than its category average, making the fund expense ratio grade a A. 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. Virtus Newfleet Short Dur H Inc Instl has a portfolio turnover rate of 54%, indicating that holds its assets around 0.0 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 72% for the High Yield Bond category.

Recently, in the month of July 2026, Virtus Newfleet Short Dur H Inc Instl returned 0.1%, which earned it a grade of A, as the High Yield Bond category had an average return of -0.3%. 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.

Virtus Newfleet Short Dur H Inc Instl has a trailing yield of 6.55%, which is above the 6.28% 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.

Virtus Newfleet Short Dur H Inc Instl Grades

Year to date, the fund has returned 2.1%, 0.4 percentage points better than the category, which translates into a grade of B. The fund has returned 4.6% over the past year (grade of C), 7.2% over the past three years (grade of D) and 5.0% per year over the past five years (grade of A) and 4.8% per year over the past 10 years (grade of C).

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 Virtus Newfleet Short Dur H Inc Instl, including its riskiness, submit your email to unlock the rest of the article.