Fund Evaluator:
Guggenheim Ultra Short Duration A (GIYAX)
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Fund Details
Guggenheim Ultra Short Duration A Overview
Guggenheim Ultra Short Duration A (GIYAX) is an actively managed Taxable Bond Ultrashort Bond fund. Guggenheim Investments launched the fund in 2018.
The investment seeks a high level of income consistent with the preservation of capital. The fund will invest primarily in a diversified portfolio of investment-grade debt securities and similar instruments while maintaining a low duration portfolio. The fund's investments will include: debt securities; financial instruments that are expected to perform similarly to debt securities and investment vehicles that provide exposure to debt securities; and debt-like securities, including individual securities, investment vehicles and derivatives giving exposure to debt securities or other similar instruments or debt security markets.
About Guggenheim Ultra Short Duration A (GIYAX)
There are 5 members of the management team with an average tenure of 9.54 years: Anne Walsh (2014), Adam Bloch (2017), Steven Brown (2014), Kris Dorr (2017), Evan Serdensky (2023). 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 Bloomberg US Treasury Bill 1-3 M TR USD index with a weighting of 100%. Guggenheim Ultra Short Duration A has 436 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 23.2% 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.
Guggenheim Ultra Short Duration A is part of the Fixed Income global asset class and is within the Taxable Bond fund group. Guggenheim Ultra Short Duration A has 9.6% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 8.8%. 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 70.5% (61.0% domestic bond, 9.5% foreign bond and 0.0% convertible bond). Guggenheim Ultra Short Duration A has 20.6% of the portfolio in cash.
Assets Under Management
The fund has $85 million in total assets, which is below the $969 million average for the Ultrashort 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.
GIYAX 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 Guggenheim Ultra Short Duration A expense ratio is average compared to funds in the Ultrashort Bond category. Guggenheim Ultra Short Duration A has an expense ratio of 0.59%, which is 31% higher than its category average, making the fund expense ratio grade a D. 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. Guggenheim Ultra Short Duration A 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 76% for the Ultrashort Bond category.
Recently, in the month of August 2026, Guggenheim Ultra Short Duration A returned 0.3%, which earned it a grade of F, as the Ultrashort 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.
Guggenheim Ultra Short Duration A has a trailing yield of 4.17%, which is above the 4.16% 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.
Guggenheim Ultra Short Duration A Grades
Year to date, the fund has returned 2.5%, 0.1 percentage points better than the category, which translates into a grade of B. The fund has returned 4.0% over the past year (grade of B), 5.6% over the past three years (grade of A) and 4.1% per year over the past five years (grade of A) and 2.8% per year over the past 10 years (grade of B).
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GIYAX 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 |
|
| GIYAX Return (NAV) | 0.3% | 0.9% | 4.0% | 5.6% | 4.1% | 2.8% |
| GIYAX Grade | F | D | B | A | A | B |
| +/- Category | -0.0% | -0.0% | 0.1% | 0.5% | 0.4% | 0.1% |
| Ultrashort Bond Avg | 0.3% | 0.9% | 3.9% | 5.1% | 3.7% | 2.7% |
| GIYAX Tax Cost Ratio | na | na | 1.7% | 1.9% | 1.6% | na |
GIYAX Annual NAV Total ReturnsData as of 8/31/26
| 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | |
| GIYAX Return (NAV) | 2.5% | 4.9% | 6.8% | 7.5% | -0.9% | 0.2% | 1.4% | 2.3% | 1.7% | 1.7% | 1.6% |
| GIYAX Grade | B | C | A | A | D | B | C | F | C | B | C |
| +/- Category | 0.1% | 0.0% | 0.9% | 1.6% | -0.8% | 0.0% | -0.2% | -0.8% | -0.0% | 0.1% | 0.1% |
| Ultrashort Bond Avg | 2.4% | 4.9% | 5.9% | 5.9% | -0.2% | 0.1% | 1.5% | 3.1% | 1.7% | 1.6% | 1.5% |
| Risk Measures | |
| Standard Deviation: | 0.8% |
| Total Risk Index: | 0.07 - Low |
| Category Risk Index: | 1.41 - High |
| Category Risk Grade: | F (86% Rank) |
| Beta: | 0.10 |
| R-Squared: | 56% |
| Leveraged Fund: | No |
| Inverse Fund: | No |
| Portfolio Characteristics | |
| Equity Investment Style: | Large-Cap Blend |
| Bond Investment Style: | High Quality Limited Sensitivity |
| Yield: | 4.2% |
| Dividend Distribution: | Monthly |
| Cap Gains Distribution: | Annually |
| Total Assets: | $631 Mil |
| Fund Total Assets: | $ 86 Mil |
| Share Class Type: | A |
| Portfolio Turnover: | 54% |
Management Team
| Number of Managers: 5 | |||
| Longest Tenure: 12.5 years | |||
| Average Tenure: 9.5 years | |||
| Managers (Year): Walsh Anne (2014), Brown Steven (2014), Dorr Kris (2017), Bloch Adam (2017), Serdensky Evan (2023) | |||
Portfolio Composition (as of 6/30/26)
| # of Holdings: | 436 |
| % in Top 10 Holdings: | 23.2% |
| Fund is Non-Diversified: | No |
| % in Foreign Issues: | 9.6% |
Portfolio Allocation |
|
| Domestic Stock: | 8.8% |
| Foreign Stock: | 0.0% |
| Preferred Stock: | 0.0% |
| Domestic Bond: | 61.0% |
| Foreign Bond: | 9.5% |
| Convertible Bond: | 0.0% |
| Other: | -0.1% |
| Cash: | 20.6% |
Purchase Information
| Fund Family: | Guggenheim Investments |
| Phone Number: | 800-820-0888 |
| Website: | www.guggenheiminvestments.com |
| Status: | Open |
| Inception Date: | November 30, 2018 |
| Min. Initial Purchase: | $2,500 |
| Min. Initial IRA Purchase: | $ 0 |
| True No-Load: | Yes |
| Front Load Maximum: | 0.00% |
| Deferred Charge Maximum: | 0.00% |
| Redemption Charge Maximum: | 0.00% |
| 12b-1 Fee: | 0.25% |
Expenses and Fees | |
| Expense Ratio (%): | 0.59% ( Rating : Avg ) |
| Category Average Expense Ratio (%): | 0.45% |
| Share Class: | Guggenheim Ultra Short Duration Instl |
| Min. Subsequent Purchase: | $ 100 |
| Min. Subsequent IRA Purchase: | $ 0 |
