Fund Evaluator:
Payden Corporate Bond (PYACX)
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Best Performing in Corporate Bond Over the Last Year
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Fund Details
Payden Corporate Bond Overview
Payden Corporate Bond (PYACX) is an actively managed Taxable Bond Corporate Bond fund. Paydenfunds launched the fund in 2009.
The investment seeks a high level of total return that is consistent with preservation of capital. The fund invests in a wide variety of debt instruments and income-producing securities. Under normal market conditions, the fund invests at least 80% of its total assets in corporate bonds or similar corporate debt instruments. In addition, in order to gain exposure to corporate debt markets, the fund may use derivatives to a significant extent, including in particular, credit default swaps with respect to individual corporate names and with respect to various credit indices.
About Payden Corporate Bond (PYACX)
There are 4 members of the management team with an average tenure of 6.76 years: Natalie Trevithick (2013), Laura Lake (2026), Timothy Crawmer (2023), Alfred Giles (2017). 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 Corp Bond TR USD index with a weighting of 100%. Payden Corporate Bond has 353 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 21.0% 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.
Payden Corporate Bond is part of the Fixed Income global asset class and is within the Taxable Bond fund group. Payden Corporate Bond has 13.1% 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 0.8% is allocated to preferred stocks. The bond allocation as a percentage of total assets is 108.7% (95.7% domestic bond, 13.1% foreign bond and 0.0% convertible bond). Payden Corporate Bond has -9.6% of the portfolio in cash.
Assets Under Management
The fund has $181 million in total assets, which is below the $720 million average for the Corporate 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.
PYACX 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 Payden Corporate Bond expense ratio is above average compared to funds in the Corporate Bond category. Payden Corporate Bond has an expense ratio of 0.66%, which is 9% lower than its category average, making the fund expense ratio grade a C. 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. Payden Corporate Bond has a portfolio turnover rate of 42%, indicating that holds its assets around 0.0 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 119% for the Corporate Bond category.
Recently, in the month of August 2026, Payden Corporate Bond returned 0.6%, which earned it a grade of A, as the Corporate Bond category had an average return of 0.4%. 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.
Payden Corporate Bond has a trailing yield of 4.74%, which is above the 4.40% 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.
Payden Corporate Bond Grades
Year to date, the fund has returned -0.5%, 0.0 percentage points better than the category, which translates into a grade of C. The fund has returned 1.5% over the past year (grade of C), 5.1% over the past three years (grade of C) and -0.1% per year over the past five years (grade of C) and 2.5% per year over the past 10 years (grade of B).
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PYACX Trailing NAV Total Returns Data as of 8/31/26
| Last Month |
Last Quarter |
Ann'l. 1Yr |
Ann'l. 3Yr |
Ann'l. 5Yr |
Ann'l. 10Yr |
|
| PYACX Return (NAV) | 0.6% | -1.0% | 1.5% | 5.1% | -0.1% | 2.5% |
| PYACX Grade | A | B | C | C | C | B |
| +/- Category | 0.3% | 0.1% | -0.1% | 0.2% | 0.1% | 0.3% |
| Corporate Bond Avg | 0.4% | -1.1% | 1.6% | 4.9% | -0.2% | 2.2% |
| PYACX Tax Cost Ratio | na | na | 1.9% | 1.8% | 1.8% | 1.7% |
PYACX Annual NAV Total ReturnsData as of 8/31/26
| 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | |
| PYACX Return (NAV) | -0.5% | 7.4% | 3.2% | 8.5% | -16.3% | -0.1% | 8.6% | 14.5% | -3.0% | 8.5% | 6.8% |
| PYACX Grade | C | C | B | C | C | A | D | C | D | A | C |
| +/- Category | 0.0% | -0.1% | 0.5% | 0.3% | -0.6% | 0.9% | -1.4% | 0.5% | -0.2% | 2.2% | -0.0% |
| Corporate Bond Avg | -0.5% | 7.4% | 2.7% | 8.2% | -15.7% | -1.0% | 10.1% | 13.9% | -2.9% | 6.3% | 6.9% |
| Risk Measures | |
| Standard Deviation: | 6.3% |
| Total Risk Index: | 0.52 - Below Average |
| Category Risk Index: | 1.04 - Average |
| Category Risk Grade: | C (50% Rank) |
| Beta: | 1.10 |
| R-Squared: | 95% |
| Leveraged Fund: | No |
| Inverse Fund: | No |
| Portfolio Characteristics | |
| Equity Investment Style: | Small-Cap Value |
| Bond Investment Style: | na Moderate Sensitivity |
| Yield: | 4.7% |
| Dividend Distribution: | Monthly |
| Cap Gains Distribution: | Annually |
| Total Assets: | $350 Mil |
| Fund Total Assets: | $ 181 Mil |
| Share Class Type: | No Load |
| Portfolio Turnover: | 42% |
Management Team
| Number of Managers: 4 | |||
| Longest Tenure: 13.5 years | |||
| Average Tenure: 6.8 years | |||
| Managers (Year): Trevithick Natalie (2013), Giles Alfred (2017), Crawmer Timothy (2023), Lake Laura (2026) | |||
Portfolio Composition (as of 7/31/26)
| # of Holdings: | 353 |
| % in Top 10 Holdings: | 21.0% |
| Fund is Non-Diversified: | No |
| % in Foreign Issues: | 13.1% |
Portfolio Allocation |
|
| Domestic Stock: | 0.0% |
| Foreign Stock: | 0.0% |
| Preferred Stock: | 0.8% |
| Domestic Bond: | 95.7% |
| Foreign Bond: | 13.1% |
| Convertible Bond: | 0.0% |
| Other: | 0.0% |
| Cash: | -9.6% |
Purchase Information
| Fund Family: | Paydenfunds |
| Phone Number: | 800-572-9336 |
| Website: | www.payden.com |
| Status: | Open |
| Inception Date: | March 12, 2009 |
| Min. Initial Purchase: | $100,000 |
| Min. Initial IRA Purchase: | $100,000 |
| 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 (%): | 0.66% ( Rating : Above Avg ) |
| Category Average Expense Ratio (%): | 0.73% |
| Share Class: | Payden Corporate Bond |
| Min. Subsequent Purchase: | $ 250 |
| Min. Subsequent IRA Purchase: | $ 250 |
