Fund Evaluator:
Hartford Short Duration A (HSDAX)Best Performing in Short-Term Bond Over the Last Year
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Fund Details
Hartford Short Duration A Overview
Hartford Short Duration A (HSDAX) is an actively managed Taxable Bond Short-Term Bond fund. Hartford Mutual Funds launched the fund in 2002.
The investment seeks to provide current income and long-term total return. The fund seeks its investment objective by investing in securities that the sub-adviser considers to be attractive giving consideration to both yield and total return. It normally invests in investment grade securities. The fund may invest up to 35% of its net assets in non-investment grade securities. It may also invest up to 35% of its net assets in bank loans or loan participation interests in secured or unsecured variable, fixed or floating rate loans to U.S. and foreign corporations, partnerships and other entities.
About Hartford Short Duration A (HSDAX)
There are 1 members of the management team with an average tenure of 3.88 years: Marc K. Piccuirro (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 Bloomberg US Govt/Credit 1-3 Yr TR USD index with a weighting of 100%. Hartford Short Duration A has 762 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 48.6% 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.
Hartford Short Duration A is part of the Fixed Income global asset class and is within the Taxable Bond fund group. Hartford Short Duration A has 11.1% 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 96.9% (85.8% domestic bond, 11.1% foreign bond and 0.0% convertible bond). Hartford Short Duration A has 3.1% of the portfolio in cash.
Assets Under Management
The fund has $731 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.
HSDAX 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 Hartford Short Duration A expense ratio is above average compared to funds in the Short-Term Bond category. Hartford Short Duration A has an expense ratio of 0.77%, which is 16% 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. Hartford Short Duration A has a portfolio turnover rate of 50%, 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, Hartford Short Duration A 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.
Hartford Short Duration A has a trailing yield of 4.41%, 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.
Hartford Short Duration A Grades
Year to date, the fund has returned 1.1%, 0.3 percentage points better than the category, which translates into a grade of B. The fund has returned 3.6% over the past year (grade of B), 5.6% over the past three years (grade of A) and 2.8% per year over the past five years (grade of B) and 2.7% per year over the past 10 years (grade of B).
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HSDAX 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 |
|
| HSDAX Return (NAV) | 0.1% | 0.5% | 3.6% | 5.6% | 2.8% | 2.7% |
| HSDAX Grade | B | B | B | A | B | B |
| +/- Category | 0.1% | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.6% | 0.5% | 0.4% |
| Short-Term Bond Avg | -0.0% | 0.3% | 3.4% | 5.0% | 2.2% | 2.3% |
| HSDAX Tax Cost Ratio | na | na | 1.8% | 1.7% | 1.4% | 1.1% |
HSDAX Annual NAV Total ReturnsData as of 7/31/26
| 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | |
| HSDAX Return (NAV) | 1.1% | 6.1% | 5.8% | 6.8% | -5.0% | 0.1% | 3.8% | 6.1% | 0.4% | 2.0% | 3.0% |
| HSDAX Grade | B | B | A | A | C | B | C | A | D | B | B |
| +/- Category | 0.3% | 0.2% | 0.9% | 1.2% | -0.0% | 0.1% | -0.4% | 1.3% | -0.4% | 0.1% | 0.5% |
| 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: | 1.7% |
| Total Risk Index: | 0.14 - Low |
| Category Risk Index: | 0.86 - Average |
| Category Risk Grade: | C (46% Rank) |
| Beta: | 0.27 |
| R-Squared: | 85% |
| Leveraged Fund: | No |
| Inverse Fund: | No |
| Portfolio Characteristics | |
| Equity Investment Style: | na |
| Bond Investment Style: | High Quality Limited Sensitivity |
| Yield: | 4.4% |
| Dividend Distribution: | Monthly |
| Cap Gains Distribution: | Annually |
| Total Assets: | $2383 Mil |
| Fund Total Assets: | $ 732 Mil |
| Share Class Type: | A |
| Portfolio Turnover: | 50% |
Management Team
| Number of Managers: 1 | |||
| Longest Tenure: 3.9 years | |||
| Average Tenure: 3.9 years | |||
| Managers (Year): Piccuirro Marc K. (2022) | |||
Portfolio Composition (as of 6/30/26)
| # of Holdings: | 762 |
| % in Top 10 Holdings: | 48.6% |
| Fund is Non-Diversified: | No |
| % in Foreign Issues: | 11.1% |
Portfolio Allocation |
|
| Domestic Stock: | 0.0% |
| Foreign Stock: | 0.0% |
| Preferred Stock: | 0.0% |
| Domestic Bond: | 85.8% |
| Foreign Bond: | 11.1% |
| Convertible Bond: | 0.0% |
| Other: | 0.0% |
| Cash: | 3.1% |
Purchase Information
| Fund Family: | Hartford Mutual Funds |
| Phone Number: | 888-843-7824 |
| Website: | www.hartfordfunds.com |
| Status: | Open |
| Inception Date: | October 31, 2002 |
| Min. Initial Purchase: | $2,000 |
| Min. Initial IRA Purchase: | $ 0 |
| True No-Load: | No |
| Front Load Maximum: | 2.00% |
| Deferred Charge Maximum: | 0.00% |
| Redemption Charge Maximum: | 0.00% |
| 12b-1 Fee: | 0.25% |
Expenses and Fees | |
| Expense Ratio (%): | 0.77% ( Rating : Above Avg ) |
| Category Average Expense Ratio (%): | 0.66% |
| Share Class: | Hartford Short Duration A |
| Min. Subsequent Purchase: | $ 50 |
| Min. Subsequent IRA Purchase: | $ 0 |