Fund Evaluator:
GuideStone Funds Low-Duration Bond Inv (GLDZX)Best Performing in Short-Term Bond Over the Last Year
| 4.8% | Janus Henderson Low Dur Mlt-Sct Inc D (JUCDX) |
| 4.8% | Destinations Low Duration Fixed Inc Z (DLDZX) |
| 4.5% | Thompson Bond (THOPX) |
| 4.5% | American Century Short Dur Strat Inc Y (ASYDX) |
| 4.3% | American Century Short Dur Strt Inc Inv (ASDVX) |
Fund Details
GuideStone Funds Low-Duration Bond Inv Overview
GuideStone Funds Low-Duration Bond Inv (GLDZX) is an actively managed Taxable Bond Short-Term Bond fund. GuideStone Funds launched the fund in 2001.
The investment seeks current income consistent with preservation of capital. The fund invests mainly (at least, and typically more than, 80% of its net assets, plus borrowings for investment purposes, if any) in investment grade fixed income instruments. The fund's portfolio is diversified among a large number of companies across different industries and economic sectors. It may hold up to 30% of its assets in obligations denominated in currencies other than the U.S. dollar and may invest beyond this limit when considering U.S. dollar-denominated securities of foreign issuers.
About GuideStone Funds Low-Duration Bond Inv (GLDZX)
There are 16 members of the management team with an average tenure of 6.51 years: Akiva Dickstein (2020), Jerome Schneider (2014), Andrew Hofer (2025), Scott MacLellan (2008), Neil Hohmann (2025), Siddharth Mehta (2025), Adam Congdon (2024), Richard Fong (2019), Paul Kunz (2025), Brandon Pizzurro (2019), Mary Syal (2008), Sam Summers (2022), Zach Olsen (2022), Amanda Liu (2022), Joshua Chastant (2024), Brian Matthews (2012). 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 1-3 Yr US Treasury TR USD index with a weighting of 100%. GuideStone Funds Low-Duration Bond Inv has 1852 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 26.1% 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.
GuideStone Funds Low-Duration Bond Inv is part of the Fixed Income global asset class and is within the Taxable Bond fund group. GuideStone Funds Low-Duration Bond Inv has 12.9% 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 0.1% is allocated to preferred stocks. The bond allocation as a percentage of total assets is 95.5% (82.6% domestic bond, 12.9% foreign bond and 0.0% convertible bond). GuideStone Funds Low-Duration Bond Inv has 4.4% of the portfolio in cash.
Assets Under Management
The fund has $157 million in total assets, which is below the $904 million average for the Short-Term 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.
GLDZX 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 GuideStone Funds Low-Duration Bond Inv expense ratio is above average compared to funds in the Short-Term Bond category. GuideStone Funds Low-Duration Bond Inv has an expense ratio of 0.67%, which is 1% 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. GuideStone Funds Low-Duration Bond Inv has a portfolio turnover rate of 161%, indicating that holds its assets around 0.0 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 135% for the Short-Term Bond category.
Recently, in the month of July 2026, GuideStone Funds Low-Duration Bond Inv returned 0.1%, which earned it a grade of B, as the Short-Term Bond category had an average return of -0.0%. 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.
GuideStone Funds Low-Duration Bond Inv has a trailing yield of 3.81%, which is below 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.
GuideStone Funds Low-Duration Bond Inv Grades
Year to date, the fund has returned 0.8%, 0.1 percentage points worse than the category, which translates into a grade of D. The fund has returned 3.2% over the past year (grade of D), 4.6% over the past three years (grade of D) and 2.0% per year over the past five years (grade of D) and 1.9% per year over the past 10 years (grade of D).
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GLDZX Trailing NAV Total Returns Data as of 7/31/26
| Last Month |
Last Quarter |
Ann'l. 1Yr |
Ann'l. 3Yr |
Ann'l. 5Yr |
Ann'l. 10Yr |
|
| GLDZX Return (NAV) | 0.1% | 0.4% | 3.2% | 4.6% | 2.0% | 1.9% |
| GLDZX Grade | B | C | D | D | D | D |
| +/- Category | 0.1% | 0.1% | -0.2% | -0.4% | -0.3% | -0.4% |
| Short-Term Bond Avg | -0.0% | 0.3% | 3.4% | 5.0% | 2.2% | 2.3% |
| GLDZX Tax Cost Ratio | na | na | 1.5% | 1.6% | 1.3% | 1.0% |
GLDZX Annual NAV Total ReturnsData as of 7/31/26
| 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | |
| GLDZX Return (NAV) | 0.8% | 5.3% | 4.5% | 4.8% | -4.4% | -0.6% | 3.2% | 3.7% | 1.1% | 1.4% | 1.5% |
| GLDZX Grade | D | D | D | D | B | D | D | F | B | D | D |
| +/- Category | -0.1% | -0.6% | -0.4% | -0.8% | 0.6% | -0.6% | -1.0% | -1.1% | 0.4% | -0.4% | -1.1% |
| Short-Term Bond Avg | 0.9% | 5.9% | 4.9% | 5.6% | -5.0% | -0.0% | 4.2% | 4.8% | 0.7% | 1.9% | 2.5% |
| Risk Measures | |
| Standard Deviation: | 1.5% |
| Total Risk Index: | 0.12 - Low |
| Category Risk Index: | 0.77 - Low |
| Category Risk Grade: | A (10% Rank) |
| Beta: | 0.24 |
| R-Squared: | 82% |
| Leveraged Fund: | No |
| Inverse Fund: | No |
| Portfolio Characteristics | |
| Equity Investment Style: | na |
| Bond Investment Style: | na |
| Yield: | 3.8% |
| Dividend Distribution: | Monthly |
| Cap Gains Distribution: | Annually |
| Total Assets: | $882 Mil |
| Fund Total Assets: | $ 158 Mil |
| Share Class Type: | Other |
| Portfolio Turnover: | 161% |
Management Team
| Number of Managers: 16 | |||
| Longest Tenure: 18.4 years | |||
| Average Tenure: 6.5 years | |||
| Managers (Year): Syal Mary (2008), MacLellan Scott (2008), Matthews Brian (2012), Schneider Jerome (2014), Pizzurro Brandon (2019), Fong Richard (2019), Dickstein Akiva (2020), Olsen Zach (2022), Liu Amanda (2022), Summers Sam (2022), Chastant Joshua (2024), Congdon Adam (2024), Kunz Paul (2025), Hofer Andrew (2025), Hohmann Neil (2025), Mehta Siddharth (2025) | |||
Portfolio Composition (as of 6/30/26)
| # of Holdings: | 1852 |
| % in Top 10 Holdings: | 26.1% |
| Fund is Non-Diversified: | No |
| % in Foreign Issues: | 12.9% |
Portfolio Allocation |
|
| Domestic Stock: | 0.0% |
| Foreign Stock: | 0.0% |
| Preferred Stock: | 0.1% |
| Domestic Bond: | 82.6% |
| Foreign Bond: | 12.9% |
| Convertible Bond: | 0.0% |
| Other: | 0.0% |
| Cash: | 4.4% |
Purchase Information
| Fund Family: | GuideStone Funds |
| Phone Number: | 888-473-8637 |
| Website: | www.guidestonefunds.org |
| Status: | Open |
| Inception Date: | August 27, 2001 |
| Min. Initial Purchase: | $1,000 |
| Min. Initial IRA Purchase: | $1,000 |
| True No-Load: | Yes |
| Front Load Maximum: | 0.00% |
| Deferred Charge Maximum: | 0.00% |
| Redemption Charge Maximum: | 0.00% |
| 12b-1 Fee: | na |
Expenses and Fees | |
| Expense Ratio (%): | 0.67% ( Rating : Above Avg ) |
| Category Average Expense Ratio (%): | 0.66% |
| Share Class: | GuideStone Funds Low-Duration Bond Inv |
| Min. Subsequent Purchase: | $ 100 |
| Min. Subsequent IRA Purchase: | $ 100 |