Western Asset Premier Bond Fund (WEA)

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Western Asset Premier Bond Fund (WEA) is down 0.9% since the beginning of the year. WEA is currently trading at $11 per share. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of WEA shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $1,048.

Western Asset Premier Bond Fund (WEA) has returned -0.92% so far this year and 6.06% over the past 12 months. Over the last ten years, WEA has returned 4.45% per year, falling short of the S&P 500 Index benchmark, which averaged 13.88% annually.

Based on dividend-adjusted daily data since Mar 27, 2002, WEA's average daily return is +0.03%, while the average monthly return is +0.65%. At this rate, an investment would double in approximately 8.9 years.

Historically, 57% of months were positive and 43% were negative. The best month was Dec 2008 with a return of +29.6%, while the worst month was Sep 2008 at -15.6%. The longest winning streak lasted 9 consecutive months, and the longest losing streak was 7 months.

On a daily basis, WEA closed higher 50% of trading days. The best single day was Oct 13, 2008 with a return of +27.3%, while the worst single day was Oct 10, 2008 at -16.0%.

Western Asset Premier Bond Fund has an annualized alpha of 5.42%, beta of 0.33, and R2 of 0.11 versus S&P 500 Index. Calculated based on daily prices since March 27, 2002.

• This fund participates in less of S&P 500 Index's moves in both directions, but captures a larger share of gains (56.57%) than losses (55.49%) - typical of diversified or defensive assets.
• Beta of 0.33 may look defensive, but with R2 of 0.11 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 0.11 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.

WEA ranks 9 for risk / return — in the bottom 9% of mutual funds on our site. This means you're taking on significantly more risk than the returns justify. Consider whether the potential upside is worth the volatility, or explore alternatives with better risk / return profiles.

Western Asset Premier Bond Fund provided a 7.94% dividend yield over the last twelve months, with an annual payout of $0.84 per share. The fund has been increasing its distributions for 7 consecutive years.

The table displays the monthly dividend distributions for Western Asset Premier 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 Western Asset Premier 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 Western Asset Premier Bond Fund was 57.76%, occurring on Nov 21, 2008. Recovery took 203 trading sessions.

The current Western Asset Premier Bond Fund drawdown is 3.46%.

The chart below shows the rolling one-month volatility.