Fund Evaluator:
Empower Core Bond Instl (MXIUX)Best Performing in Intermediate Core Bond Over the Last Year
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Fund Details
Empower Core Bond Instl Overview
Empower Core Bond Instl (MXIUX) is an actively managed Taxable Bond Intermediate Core Bond fund. Empower Funds launched the fund in 2015.
The investment seeks to provide total return, consisting of two components: (1) changes in the market value of its portfolio holdings (both realized and unrealized appreciation); and (2) income received from its portfolio holdings. The fund will invest 80% of its net assets in fixed income securities. It will invest primarily in a diversified portfolio of investment grade securities, including mortgage-backed securities, U.S. government securities, corporate fixed income securities, to-be-announced (“TBA”) securities, when-issued securities, asset-backed securities (including collateralized loan obligations (“CLOs”)) and municipal securities.
About Empower Core Bond Instl (MXIUX)
There are 7 members of the management team with an average tenure of 4.57 years: Campe Goodman (2017), Rob Burn (2017), Paul Seary (2021), Jeremy Forster (2024), Simon Dangoor (2024), Lindsay Rosner (2024), Connor Fitzgerald (2025). Management tenure is more important for actively managed funds than passive index funds.
The fund has 1 primary benchmark: Bloomberg US Agg Bond TR USD index with a weighting of 100%. Empower Core Bond Instl has 1314 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 15.9% 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.
Empower Core Bond Instl is part of the Fixed Income global asset class and is within the Taxable Bond fund group. Empower Core Bond Instl has 6.6% 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 93.8% (87.2% domestic bond, 6.6% foreign bond and 0.0% convertible bond). Empower Core Bond Instl has 6.2% of the portfolio in cash.
Assets Under Management
The fund has $801 million in total assets, which is below the $3 billion average for the Intermediate Core 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.
MXIUX 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 Empower Core Bond Instl expense ratio is below average compared to funds in the Intermediate Core Bond category. Empower Core Bond Instl has an expense ratio of 0.35%, which is 38% 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. Empower Core Bond Instl has a portfolio turnover rate of 197%, indicating that holds its assets around 0.0 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 151% for the Intermediate Core Bond category.
Recently, in the month of July 2026, Empower Core Bond Instl returned -1.4%, which earned it a grade of D, as the Intermediate Core Bond category had an average return of -1.3%. 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.
Empower Core Bond Instl has a trailing yield of 3.69%, which is below the 4.04% category average. The fund normally distributes its income 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.
Empower Core Bond Instl 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 2.7% over the past year (grade of B), 3.9% over the past three years (grade of B) and -0.5% per year over the past five years (grade of C) and 1.7% per year over the past 10 years (grade of B).
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MXIUX 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 |
|
| MXIUX Return (NAV) | -1.4% | -0.8% | 2.7% | 3.9% | -0.5% | 1.7% |
| MXIUX Grade | D | C | B | B | C | B |
| +/- Category | -0.1% | 0.0% | 0.2% | 0.2% | -0.0% | 0.3% |
| Intermediate Core Bond Avg | -1.3% | -0.8% | 2.5% | 3.7% | -0.5% | 1.4% |
| MXIUX Tax Cost Ratio | na | na | 1.4% | 1.5% | 1.4% | 1.3% |
MXIUX Annual NAV Total ReturnsData as of 7/31/26
| 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | |
| MXIUX Return (NAV) | -0.8% | 7.2% | 1.8% | 6.6% | -14.4% | -1.2% | 8.5% | 9.4% | -0.8% | 4.4% | 5.0% |
| MXIUX Grade | D | C | B | A | F | B | B | A | D | A | A |
| +/- Category | -0.1% | 0.2% | 0.2% | 1.0% | -1.2% | 0.3% | 0.4% | 1.0% | -0.4% | 0.8% | 2.2% |
| Intermediate Core Bond Avg | -0.7% | 7.0% | 1.6% | 5.6% | -13.2% | -1.5% | 8.1% | 8.5% | -0.4% | 3.6% | 2.8% |
| Risk Measures | |
| Standard Deviation: | 5.8% |
| Total Risk Index: | 0.48 - Below Average |
| Category Risk Index: | 1.04 - High |
| Category Risk Grade: | F (84% Rank) |
| Beta: | 1.04 |
| R-Squared: | 100% |
| Leveraged Fund: | No |
| Inverse Fund: | No |
| Portfolio Characteristics | |
| Equity Investment Style: | na |
| Bond Investment Style: | High Quality Moderate Sensitivity |
| Yield: | 3.7% |
| Dividend Distribution: | Annually |
| Cap Gains Distribution: | |
| Total Assets: | $817 Mil |
| Fund Total Assets: | $ 801 Mil |
| Share Class Type: | Inst |
| Portfolio Turnover: | 197% |
Management Team
| Number of Managers: 7 | |||
| Longest Tenure: 9.3 years | |||
| Average Tenure: 4.6 years | |||
| Managers (Year): Goodman Campe (2017), Burn Rob (2017), Seary Paul (2021), Dangoor Simon (2024), Rosner Lindsay (2024), Forster Jeremy (2024), Fitzgerald Connor (2025) | |||
Portfolio Composition (as of 3/31/26)
| # of Holdings: | 1314 |
| % in Top 10 Holdings: | 15.9% |
| Fund is Non-Diversified: | No |
| % in Foreign Issues: | 6.6% |
Portfolio Allocation |
|
| Domestic Stock: | 0.0% |
| Foreign Stock: | 0.0% |
| Preferred Stock: | 0.0% |
| Domestic Bond: | 87.2% |
| Foreign Bond: | 6.6% |
| Convertible Bond: | 0.0% |
| Other: | 0.0% |
| Cash: | 6.2% |
Purchase Information
| Fund Family: | Empower Funds |
| Phone Number: | 866-831-7129 |
| Website: | www.greatwestfunds.com |
| Status: | Open |
| Inception Date: | May 1, 2015 |
| Min. Initial Purchase: | $ 0 |
| 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: | 0.00% |
Expenses and Fees | |
| Expense Ratio (%): | 0.35% ( Rating : Below Avg ) |
| Category Average Expense Ratio (%): | 0.57% |
| Share Class: | Empower Core Bond Inv |
| Min. Subsequent Purchase: | $ 0 |
| Min. Subsequent IRA Purchase: | $ 0 |