Fund Evaluator:
Empower Short Duration Bond Instl (MXXJX)
Follow This Fund
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
Empower Short Duration Bond Instl Overview
Empower Short Duration Bond Instl (MXXJX) is an actively managed Taxable Bond Short-Term Bond fund. Empower Funds launched the fund in 2015.
The investment seeks maximum total return that is consistent with preservation of capital and liquidity. The fund will, under normal circumstances, invest at least 80% of its net assets in investment grade bonds. It will maintain an actively managed portfolio of bonds selected from several categories, including corporate bonds; securitized assets, including asset-backed securities, residential mortgage-backed securities, commercial mortgage-backed securities and collateralized mortgage obligations; U.S. Treasuries and agency securities; structured credit; commercial paper; and foreign government securities.
About Empower Short Duration Bond Instl (MXXJX)
There are 4 members of the management team with an average tenure of 2.43 years: Albert Chan (2024), Michael Lima (2024), Andrew Benson (2024), Joanne Driscoll (2024). 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 Credit 1-3 Yr TR USD index with a weighting of 100%. Empower Short Duration Bond Instl has 511 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 20.1% 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.
Empower Short Duration Bond Instl is part of the Fixed Income global asset class and is within the Taxable Bond fund group. Empower Short Duration Bond Instl has 11.0% 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 0.2% is allocated to preferred stocks. The bond allocation as a percentage of total assets is 77.2% (66.2% domestic bond, 11.0% foreign bond and 0.0% convertible bond). Empower Short Duration Bond Instl has 22.7% of the portfolio in cash.
Assets Under Management
The fund has $549 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.
MXXJX 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 Short Duration Bond Instl expense ratio is below average compared to funds in the Short-Term Bond category. Empower Short Duration Bond Instl has an expense ratio of 0.25%, which is 62% 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. Empower Short Duration Bond Instl 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, Empower Short Duration Bond Instl 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.
Empower Short Duration Bond Instl has a trailing yield of 4.00%, which is below the 4.16% category average. The fund normally distributes its income quarterly.
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 Short Duration Bond Instl Grades
Year to date, the fund has returned 1.0%, 0.1 percentage points better than the category, which translates into a grade of B. The fund has returned 3.5% over the past year (grade of C), 4.9% over the past three years (grade of C) and 2.6% per year over the past five years (grade of B) and 2.7% per year over the past 10 years (grade of B).
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 Empower Short Duration Bond Instl, including its riskiness, submit your email to unlock the rest of the article.
Gain access to exclusive AAII member-only content.
MXXJX 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 |
|
| MXXJX Return (NAV) | 0.1% | 0.4% | 3.5% | 4.9% | 2.6% | 2.7% |
| MXXJX Grade | B | C | C | C | B | B |
| +/- Category | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.1% | -0.1% | 0.3% | 0.4% |
| Short-Term Bond Avg | -0.0% | 0.3% | 3.4% | 5.0% | 2.2% | 2.3% |
| MXXJX Tax Cost Ratio | na | na | 1.6% | 1.4% | 1.3% | 1.2% |
MXXJX Annual NAV Total ReturnsData as of 7/31/26
| 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | |
| MXXJX Return (NAV) | 1.0% | 5.8% | 4.6% | 6.0% | -4.0% | 0.3% | 5.0% | 5.8% | 0.9% | 2.4% | 2.0% |
| MXXJX Grade | B | C | D | B | B | B | B | A | C | B | C |
| +/- Category | 0.1% | -0.1% | -0.3% | 0.4% | 1.1% | 0.4% | 0.8% | 1.1% | 0.2% | 0.5% | -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: | 1.6% |
| Total Risk Index: | 0.13 - Low |
| Category Risk Index: | 0.81 - Below Average |
| Category Risk Grade: | B (29% Rank) |
| Beta: | 0.25 |
| R-Squared: | 78% |
| Leveraged Fund: | No |
| Inverse Fund: | No |
| Portfolio Characteristics | |
| Equity Investment Style: | na |
| Bond Investment Style: | High Quality Limited Sensitivity |
| Yield: | 4.0% |
| Dividend Distribution: | Quarterly |
| Cap Gains Distribution: | |
| Total Assets: | $610 Mil |
| Fund Total Assets: | $ 550 Mil |
| Share Class Type: | Inst |
| Portfolio Turnover: | 50% |
Management Team
| Number of Managers: 4 | |||
| Longest Tenure: 2.4 years | |||
| Average Tenure: 2.4 years | |||
| Managers (Year): Chan Albert (2024), Lima Michael (2024), Benson Andrew (2024), Driscoll Joanne (2024) | |||
Portfolio Composition (as of 3/31/26)
| # of Holdings: | 511 |
| % in Top 10 Holdings: | 20.1% |
| Fund is Non-Diversified: | No |
| % in Foreign Issues: | 11.0% |
Portfolio Allocation |
|
| Domestic Stock: | 0.0% |
| Foreign Stock: | 0.0% |
| Preferred Stock: | 0.2% |
| Domestic Bond: | 66.2% |
| Foreign Bond: | 11.0% |
| Convertible Bond: | 0.0% |
| Other: | 0.0% |
| Cash: | 22.7% |
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 (%): | 0.25% ( Rating : Below Avg ) |
| Category Average Expense Ratio (%): | 0.66% |
| Share Class: | Empower Short Duration Bond Inv |
| Min. Subsequent Purchase: | $ 0 |
| Min. Subsequent IRA Purchase: | $ 0 |
