Fund Evaluator:
Thompson Bond (THOPX)
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Best Performing in Short-Term Bond Over the Last Year
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Fund Details
Thompson Bond Overview
Thompson Bond (THOPX) is an actively managed Taxable Bond Short-Term Bond fund. Thompson IM launched the fund in 1992.
The investment seeks a higher level of current income while preserving capital. The fund normally invests at least 80% of its net assets plus any borrowing for investment purposes in a diversified portfolio of bonds, including corporate bonds of domestic issuers and of foreign issuers payable in U.S. dollars, short-term debt instruments, mortgage- and asset-backed securities, bonds of foreign government issuers (including its agencies and instrumentalities) payable in U.S. dollars, and U.S. Treasury securities and other debt securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government (including its agencies and instrumentalities).
About Thompson Bond (THOPX)
There are 2 members of the management team with an average tenure of 17.42 years: Jason Stephens (2009), James Evans (2009). 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 1-5 Yr TR USD index with a weighting of 100%. Thompson Bond has 534 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 7.7% 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.
Thompson Bond is part of the Fixed Income global asset class and is within the Taxable Bond fund group. Thompson Bond has 5.4% 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 2.1% is allocated to preferred stocks. The bond allocation as a percentage of total assets is 93.0% (87.6% domestic bond, 5.4% foreign bond and 0.3% convertible bond). Thompson Bond has 4.6% of the portfolio in cash.
Assets Under Management
The fund has $1 billion in total assets, which is above the $893 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.
THOPX 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 Thompson Bond expense ratio is above average compared to funds in the Short-Term Bond category. Thompson Bond has an expense ratio of 0.73%, which is 10% 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. Thompson Bond has a portfolio turnover rate of 26%, indicating that holds its assets around 0.0 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 134% for the Short-Term Bond category.
Recently, in the month of June 2026, Thompson Bond returned 0.5%, which earned it a grade of A, as the Short-Term Bond category had an average return of 0.1%. 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.
Thompson Bond has a trailing yield of 5.15%, which is above the 4.15% category average. The fund normally distributes its income none 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.
Thompson Bond Grades
Year to date, the fund has returned 1.4%, 0.5 percentage points better than the category, which translates into a grade of A. The fund has returned 5.2% over the past year (grade of A), 8.8% over the past three years (grade of A) and 4.0% per year over the past five years (grade of A) and 4.0% per year over the past 10 years (grade of A).
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THOPX Trailing NAV Total Returns Data as of 6/30/26
| Last Month |
Last Quarter |
Ann'l. 1Yr |
Ann'l. 3Yr |
Ann'l. 5Yr |
Ann'l. 10Yr |
|
| THOPX Return (NAV) | 0.5% | 1.1% | 5.2% | 8.8% | 4.0% | 4.0% |
| THOPX Grade | A | A | A | A | A | A |
| +/- Category | 0.4% | 0.4% | 1.7% | 3.6% | 1.7% | 1.7% |
| Short-Term Bond Avg | 0.1% | 0.8% | 3.5% | 5.2% | 2.3% | 2.3% |
| THOPX Tax Cost Ratio | na | na | 2.1% | 2.1% | 2.0% | 1.8% |
THOPX Annual NAV Total ReturnsData as of 6/30/26
| 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | |
| THOPX Return (NAV) | 1.4% | 8.0% | 11.5% | 7.0% | -7.3% | 5.7% | -1.7% | 5.6% | 1.8% | 4.8% | 10.4% |
| THOPX Grade | A | A | A | A | F | A | F | B | A | A | A |
| +/- Category | 0.5% | 2.1% | 6.6% | 1.4% | -2.2% | 5.8% | -5.9% | 0.8% | 1.1% | 3.0% | 7.9% |
| Short-Term Bond Avg | 0.9% | 5.9% | 4.9% | 5.6% | -5.0% | -0.0% | 4.2% | 4.8% | 0.7% | 1.8% | 2.5% |
| Risk Measures | |
| Standard Deviation: | 2.6% |
| Total Risk Index: | 0.21 - Low |
| Category Risk Index: | 1.30 - High |
| Category Risk Grade: | F (89% Rank) |
| Beta: | 0.31 |
| R-Squared: | 49% |
| Leveraged Fund: | No |
| Inverse Fund: | No |
| Portfolio Characteristics | |
| Equity Investment Style: | na |
| Bond Investment Style: | High Quality Limited Sensitivity |
| Yield: | 5.2% |
| Dividend Distribution: | None |
| Cap Gains Distribution: | Annually |
| Total Assets: | $1939 Mil |
| Fund Total Assets: | $1,939 Mil |
| Share Class Type: | No Load |
| Portfolio Turnover: | 26% |
Management Team
| Number of Managers: 2 | |||
| Longest Tenure: 17.4 years | |||
| Average Tenure: 17.4 years | |||
| Managers (Year): Stephens Jason (2009), Evans James (2009) | |||
Portfolio Composition (as of 3/31/26)
| # of Holdings: | 534 |
| % in Top 10 Holdings: | 7.7% |
| Fund is Non-Diversified: | No |
| % in Foreign Issues: | 5.4% |
Portfolio Allocation |
|
| Domestic Stock: | 0.0% |
| Foreign Stock: | 0.0% |
| Preferred Stock: | 2.1% |
| Domestic Bond: | 87.6% |
| Foreign Bond: | 5.4% |
| Convertible Bond: | 0.3% |
| Other: | 0.0% |
| Cash: | 4.6% |
Purchase Information
| Fund Family: | Thompson IM |
| Phone Number: | 800-999-0887 |
| Website: | www.thompsonim.com |
| Status: | Open |
| Inception Date: | February 10, 1992 |
| Min. Initial Purchase: | $ 250 |
| 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: | na |
Expenses and Fees | |
| Expense Ratio (%): | 0.73% ( Rating : Above Avg ) |
| Category Average Expense Ratio (%): | 0.66% |
| Share Class: | Thompson Bond |
| Min. Subsequent Purchase: | $ 50 |
| Min. Subsequent IRA Purchase: | $ 0 |
