PortfoliosLab logo
PortfoliosLab logo
Tools
Portfolios
Screeners
Discussions
Northern Short Bond Fund (BSBAX)
Performance
Risk-Adjusted Performance
Dividends
Drawdowns
Volatility

Northern Short Bond Fund (BSBAX)

Mutual Fund · Currency in USD · Last updated May 31, 2025

The fund will invest, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of its net assets in bonds and other fixed-income securities. Although the fund primarily invests in investment grade domestic debt obligations, it may also invest in domestic and foreign debt obligations that are rated below-investment grade. The fund's dollar-weighted average maturity, under normal circumstances, will range between one and three years.

Fund Info

ISIN

US6651623687

CUSIP

665162368

Issuer

Northern Funds

Inception Date

Jan 11, 1993

Category

Short-Term Bond

Min. Investment

$2,500

Asset Class

Bond

Expense Ratio

BSBAX has an expense ratio of 0.40%, placing it in the medium range.

Share Price Chart

Loading data...

Compare to other instruments

Search for stocks, ETFs, and funds for a quick comparison or use the comparison tool for more options.

Northern Short Bond Fund

Performance

Performance Chart

Loading data...

S&P 500

Returns By Period

Northern Short Bond Fund (BSBAX) returned 2.23% year-to-date (YTD) and 5.81% over the past 12 months. Over the past 10 years, BSBAX returned 1.90% annually, underperforming the S&P 500 benchmark at 10.85%.

BSBAX

YTD

2.23%

1M

0.12%

6M

2.28%

1Y

5.81%

3Y*

3.50%

5Y*

1.80%

10Y*

1.90%

^GSPC (Benchmark)

YTD

0.51%

1M

6.15%

6M

-2.00%

1Y

12.92%

3Y*

12.68%

5Y*

14.19%

10Y*

10.85%

*Annualized

Monthly Returns

The table below presents the monthly returns of BSBAX, with color gradation from worst to best to easily spot seasonal factors. Returns are adjusted for dividends.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecTotal
20250.56%0.76%0.23%0.54%0.12%2.23%
20240.44%-0.28%0.40%-0.35%0.75%0.62%1.15%0.91%0.81%-0.65%0.47%0.05%4.37%
20231.19%-0.61%1.23%0.36%-0.31%-0.38%0.50%0.38%-0.14%0.30%1.33%1.16%5.08%
2022-0.89%-0.54%-1.27%-0.94%0.45%-1.26%1.07%-0.79%-1.32%0.05%1.02%0.15%-4.25%
20210.12%-0.24%-0.14%0.22%0.22%-0.01%0.22%-0.02%-0.12%-0.38%-0.28%0.07%-0.36%
20200.59%0.52%-2.03%1.43%0.99%0.52%0.62%0.21%-0.06%0.04%0.50%0.38%3.73%
20190.92%0.35%0.70%0.38%0.52%0.67%0.05%0.76%-0.08%0.42%0.02%0.28%5.11%
2018-0.19%-0.15%-0.02%0.08%0.20%0.07%0.16%0.38%0.07%-0.16%0.03%0.18%0.64%
20170.26%0.33%0.11%0.20%0.23%-0.01%0.33%0.14%0.03%0.08%-0.23%0.10%1.59%
20160.37%-0.04%0.60%0.34%0.01%0.54%0.17%0.03%0.14%-0.01%-0.44%0.20%1.91%
20150.45%0.14%0.09%0.21%0.05%-0.17%-0.05%-0.17%0.00%0.17%-0.21%-0.28%0.24%
20140.18%0.37%-0.09%0.21%0.22%0.06%-0.25%0.27%-0.31%0.42%0.01%-0.39%0.67%
Go deeper with the Portfolio Analysis tool — backtest performance, assess risk, compare to benchmarks, and more

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Adjusted Performance Rank

With an overall rank of 96, BSBAX is among the top 4% of mutual funds on our website when it comes to balancing risk and reward. Below is a breakdown of how it compares using common performance measures.

The Risk-Adjusted Performance Rank of BSBAX is 9696
Overall Rank
The Sharpe Ratio Rank of BSBAX is 9696
Sharpe Ratio Rank
The Sortino Ratio Rank of BSBAX is 9797
Sortino Ratio Rank
The Omega Ratio Rank of BSBAX is 9595
Omega Ratio Rank
The Calmar Ratio Rank of BSBAX is 9797
Calmar Ratio Rank
The Martin Ratio Rank of BSBAX is 9696
Martin Ratio Rank
The risk-adjusted ranks indicate the investment's position relative to the market. A rank closer to 100 signifies top-performing investments, while a rank closer to 0 might suggest underperformance, based on the selected ratio. The values are calculated based on the past 12 months of returns.

Risk-Adjusted Performance Indicators

The charts below present risk-adjusted performance metrics for Northern Short Bond Fund (BSBAX) and compare them to a chosen benchmark (^GSPC). These indicators evaluate an investment's returns against its associated risks.

The Sharpe ratio helps investors understand how much return they're getting for the level of risk taken. A higher Sharpe ratio indicates better risk-adjusted performance, meaning more reward for each unit of risk.

Northern Short Bond Fund Sharpe ratios as of May 31, 2025 (values are recalculated daily):

  • 1-Year: 2.86
  • 5-Year: 0.89
  • 10-Year: 1.10
  • All Time: 1.07

These values reflect how efficiently the investment has delivered returns relative to its volatility over different time periods. All figures are annualized and based on daily total returns (including price changes and dividends).

The chart below shows the rolling Sharpe ratio of Northern Short Bond Fund compared to the selected benchmark. This view highlights how the investment's risk-adjusted performance has changed over time.

Loading data...

Go to the full Sharpe Ratio tool to analyze any stock or portfolio. Customize time frames, set your own risk-free rate, and more

Dividends

Dividend History

Northern Short Bond Fund provided a 4.10% dividend yield over the last twelve months, with an annual payout of $0.75 per share. The fund has been increasing its distributions for 3 consecutive years.

1.50%2.00%2.50%3.00%3.50%4.00%$0.00$0.10$0.20$0.30$0.40$0.50$0.60$0.7020142015201620172018201920202021202220232024
Dividends
Dividend Yield
PeriodTTM20242023202220212020201920182017201620152014
Dividend$0.75$0.70$0.55$0.29$0.23$0.39$0.48$0.46$0.35$0.30$0.25$0.27

Dividend yield

4.10%3.82%3.03%1.63%1.22%2.01%2.56%2.49%1.85%1.57%1.31%1.41%

Monthly Dividends

The table displays the monthly dividend distributions for Northern Short Bond Fund. The dividends shown in the table have been adjusted to account for any splits that may have occurred.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecTotal
2025$0.07$0.07$0.06$0.07$0.06$0.33
2024$0.06$0.06$0.05$0.06$0.05$0.06$0.06$0.07$0.06$0.06$0.07$0.05$0.70
2023$0.05$0.04$0.04$0.05$0.04$0.04$0.05$0.05$0.04$0.05$0.05$0.05$0.55
2022$0.02$0.04$0.01$0.02$0.02$0.02$0.02$0.03$0.02$0.03$0.03$0.03$0.29
2021$0.02$0.02$0.02$0.02$0.02$0.02$0.02$0.02$0.02$0.02$0.02$0.01$0.23
2020$0.04$0.04$0.03$0.04$0.04$0.03$0.03$0.03$0.03$0.03$0.03$0.03$0.39
2019$0.05$0.05$0.04$0.04$0.04$0.05$0.04$0.04$0.04$0.04$0.03$0.03$0.48
2018$0.04$0.03$0.04$0.04$0.04$0.04$0.04$0.04$0.04$0.04$0.05$0.03$0.46
2017$0.03$0.02$0.05$0.03$0.02$0.03$0.02$0.03$0.03$0.03$0.03$0.04$0.35
2016$0.03$0.02$0.02$0.02$0.02$0.02$0.02$0.03$0.03$0.03$0.03$0.03$0.30
2015$0.03$0.02$0.02$0.02$0.02$0.02$0.02$0.02$0.02$0.02$0.02$0.03$0.25
2014$0.02$0.02$0.02$0.02$0.02$0.02$0.02$0.02$0.02$0.04$0.02$0.02$0.27

Drawdowns

Drawdowns Chart

The Drawdowns chart displays portfolio losses from any high point along the way. Drawdowns are calculated considering price movements and all distributions paid, if any.

Loading data...

Worst Drawdowns

The table below displays the maximum drawdowns of the Northern Short Bond Fund. A maximum drawdown is a measure of risk, indicating the largest reduction in portfolio value due to a series of losing trades.

The maximum drawdown for the Northern Short Bond Fund was 6.62%, occurring on Oct 20, 2022. Recovery took 308 trading sessions.

Depth

Start

To Bottom

Bottom

To Recover

End

Total

-6.62%Sep 2, 2021286Oct 20, 2022308Jan 12, 2024594
-4.66%Mar 6, 202012Mar 23, 202049Jun 2, 202061
-1.79%May 10, 201332Jun 25, 2013152Jan 31, 2014184
-1.08%Sep 25, 202443Nov 22, 202439Jan 23, 202582
-0.9%Apr 28, 2015163Dec 16, 201569Mar 29, 2016232
Go to the full Drawdowns tool for more analysis options, including inflation-adjusted drawdowns, and more

Volatility

Volatility Chart

The chart below shows the rolling one-month volatility.

Loading data...