Fund Evaluator:
Aristotle Ultra Short Income A (PLUAX)Best Performing in Ultrashort Bond Over the Last Year
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Fund Details
Aristotle Ultra Short Income A Overview
Aristotle Ultra Short Income A (PLUAX) is an actively managed Taxable Bond Ultrashort Bond fund. Aristotle Funds launched the fund in 2023.
The investment seeks current income consistent with capital preservation. The fund primarily invests in investment grade, U.S. dollar-denominated short-term fixed and floating rate debt securities, including corporate debt securities, mortgage-related securities, asset-backed securities, U.S. government securities and agency securities and money market instruments such as commercial paper, certificates of deposit, time deposits, deposit notes and bank notes. The weighted average duration of this fund will vary based on the sub-adviser’s market forecasts and will not normally exceed one year.
About Aristotle Ultra Short Income A (PLUAX)
There are 2 members of the management team with an average tenure of 7.10 years: Ying Qiu (2019), David Weismiller (2019). 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 Short Treasury TR USD index with a weighting of 100%. Aristotle Ultra Short Income A has 171 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 19.7% 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.
Aristotle Ultra Short Income A is part of the Fixed Income global asset class and is within the Taxable Bond fund group. Aristotle Ultra Short Income A has 23.9% 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 0.0% is allocated to preferred stocks. The bond allocation as a percentage of total assets is 94.3% (70.4% domestic bond, 23.9% foreign bond and 0.0% convertible bond). Aristotle Ultra Short Income A has 5.7% of the portfolio in cash.
Assets Under Management
The fund has $1 million in total assets, which is below the $950 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.
PLUAX 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 Aristotle Ultra Short Income A expense ratio is average compared to funds in the Ultrashort Bond category. Aristotle Ultra Short Income A has an expense ratio of 0.57%, which is 27% 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. Aristotle Ultra Short Income A has a portfolio turnover rate of 108%, indicating that holds its assets around 0.0 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 77% for the Ultrashort Bond category.
Recently, in the month of July 2026, Aristotle Ultra Short Income A returned 0.3%, which earned it a grade of C, 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.
Aristotle Ultra Short Income A has a trailing yield of 3.84%, which is below the 4.21% 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.
Aristotle Ultra Short Income A Grades
Year to date, the fund has returned 2.0%, 0.1 percentage points worse than the category, which translates into a grade of D. The fund has returned 4.2% over the past year (grade of C), 5.2% over the past three years (grade of C) and 3.7% per year over the past five years (grade of C).
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PLUAX 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 |
|
| PLUAX Return (NAV) | 0.3% | 0.9% | 4.2% | 5.2% | 3.7% | na |
| PLUAX Grade | C | C | C | C | C | na |
| +/- Category | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.1% | -0.0% | 0.0% | na |
| Ultrashort Bond Avg | 0.3% | 0.9% | 4.1% | 5.2% | 3.6% | 2.7% |
| PLUAX Tax Cost Ratio | na | na | 1.6% | 1.9% | na | na |
PLUAX Annual NAV Total ReturnsData as of 7/31/26
| 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | |
| PLUAX Return (NAV) | 2.0% | 5.1% | 5.6% | 5.8% | 0.1% | 0.1% | 2.0% | na | na | na | na |
| PLUAX Grade | D | B | C | C | C | C | B | na | na | na | na |
| +/- Category | -0.1% | 0.3% | -0.2% | -0.1% | 0.3% | -0.0% | 0.5% | na | na | na | na |
| Ultrashort Bond Avg | 2.1% | 4.9% | 5.9% | 5.9% | -0.2% | 0.1% | 1.5% | 3.1% | 1.7% | 1.6% | 1.5% |
| Risk Measures | |
| Standard Deviation: | 0.5% |
| Total Risk Index: | 0.04 - Low |
| Category Risk Index: | 0.92 - Average |
| Category Risk Grade: | C (56% Rank) |
| Beta: | 0.06 |
| R-Squared: | 48% |
| Leveraged Fund: | No |
| Inverse Fund: | No |
| Portfolio Characteristics | |
| Equity Investment Style: | na |
| Bond Investment Style: | High Quality Limited Sensitivity |
| Yield: | 3.8% |
| Dividend Distribution: | Monthly |
| Cap Gains Distribution: | Annually |
| Total Assets: | $48 Mil |
| Fund Total Assets: | $ 1 Mil |
| Share Class Type: | A |
| Portfolio Turnover: | 108% |
Management Team
| Number of Managers: 2 | |||
| Longest Tenure: 7.1 years | |||
| Average Tenure: 7.1 years | |||
| Managers (Year): Qiu Ying (2019), Weismiller David (2019) | |||
Portfolio Composition (as of 6/30/26)
| # of Holdings: | 171 |
| % in Top 10 Holdings: | 19.7% |
| Fund is Non-Diversified: | No |
| % in Foreign Issues: | 23.9% |
Portfolio Allocation |
|
| Domestic Stock: | 0.0% |
| Foreign Stock: | 0.0% |
| Preferred Stock: | 0.0% |
| Domestic Bond: | 70.4% |
| Foreign Bond: | 23.9% |
| Convertible Bond: | 0.0% |
| Other: | 0.0% |
| Cash: | 5.7% |
Purchase Information
| Fund Family: | Aristotle Funds |
| Phone Number: | 844-274-7885 |
| Website: | www.pacificlife.com |
| Status: | Open |
| Inception Date: | April 17, 2023 |
| 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: | 0.25% |
Expenses and Fees | |
| Expense Ratio (%): | 0.57% ( Rating : Avg ) |
| Category Average Expense Ratio (%): | 0.45% |
| Share Class: | Aristotle Ultra Short Income I |
| Min. Subsequent Purchase: | $ 50 |
| Min. Subsequent IRA Purchase: | $ 50 |