Principal Tax-Exempt Bond Fund (PTEAX)

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The chart shows the growth of an initial investment of $10,000 in Principal Tax-Exempt Bond Fund, comparing it to the performance of the S&P 500 index or another benchmark. All prices have been adjusted for splits and dividends.

Principal Tax-Exempt Bond Fund (PTEAX) has returned -1.06% so far this year and 3.32% over the past 12 months. Over the last ten years, PTEAX has returned 1.93% per year, falling short of the S&P 500 Index benchmark, which averaged 12.16% annually.

Based on dividend-adjusted daily data since Jan 31, 1980, PTEAX's average daily return is +0.01%, while the average monthly return is +0.18%. At this rate, your investment would double in approximately 32.1 years.

Historically, 60% of months were positive and 40% were negative. The best month was Aug 1982 with a return of +14.6%, while the worst month was Dec 1981 at -11.6%. The longest winning streak lasted 13 consecutive months, and the longest losing streak was 9 months.

On a daily basis, PTEAX closed higher 33% of trading days. The best single day was Aug 30, 1982 with a return of +11.8%, while the worst single day was Mar 28, 1980 at -12.9%.

Principal Tax-Exempt Bond Fund has an annualized alpha of 2.27%, beta of 0.01, and R² of 0.00 versus S&P 500 Index. Calculated based on daily prices since February 29, 1980.

• This fund participates in less of S&P 500 Index's moves in both directions, but captures a larger share of gains (12.70%) than losses (12.28%) — typical of diversified or defensive assets.
• Beta of 0.01 may look defensive, but with R² of 0.00 this fund is largely uncorrelated with S&P 500 Index — low beta reflects independence, not downside protection. See the Volatility section for a true picture of this fund's risk.
• R² of 0.00 means this fund moves largely independently of S&P 500 Index — capture ratios reflect limited market correlation rather than active downside protection. Consider using a more representative benchmark.

PTEAX has an expense ratio of 0.73%, placing it in the medium range.

PTEAX ranks 37 for risk / return — below 37% of mutual funds on our site. The returns aren't fully compensating for the risk involved. This isn't necessarily a dealbreaker, but factor it into your decision — especially if you're risk-averse.

The table below present risk-adjusted performance metrics for Principal Tax-Exempt Bond Fund (PTEAX) and compare them to a chosen benchmark (S&P 500 Index).

Principal Tax-Exempt Bond Fund provided a 3.89% dividend yield over the last twelve months, with an annual payout of $0.26 per share. The fund has been increasing its distributions for 3 consecutive years.

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

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.

The table below displays the maximum drawdowns of the Principal Tax-Exempt 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 Principal Tax-Exempt Bond Fund was 38.72%, occurring on Jan 13, 1982. Recovery took 2057 trading sessions.

The current Principal Tax-Exempt Bond Fund drawdown is 2.95%.

The chart below shows the rolling one-month volatility.