WUSNX

Ultra Short-Term Income Fund

$8.80
NAV
+$0.00 / +0.00%
$1,139.5M
Fund assets
4.31%
30-Day SEC yield*
5.01%
Year-to-date return
Data as of 10/9/2024
*As of 10/8/2024
Fund overview
Flexible short-term bond portfolio with the ability to allocate across a broad spectrum of securities
The Allspring Ultra Short-Term Income Fund seeks current income by investing primarily in a diversified portfolio of fixed income securities with an average maturity of less than one year.

The flexibility to allocate capital across a broad spectrum of short-term securities provides the opportunity to earn attractive total returns while efficiently limiting incremental risk.

Key differentiators

  • Uses a six-month investment horizon to anticipate market inflection points
  • Has a minimum of 85% in investment-grade securities but can be opportunistic with high yield bonds and in emerging markets
  • Seeks diversified and unbiased sources of alpha in an effort to generate compelling returns over a market cycle

General facts

Effective duration

0.76

(as of 8/31/2024)

Effective maturity

1.17

(as of 8/31/2024)

Distribution yield

4.46%

(as of 10/9/2024)

Benchmark name

Bloomberg Short-Term Government/Corporate Bond Index

Morningstar category

Ultrashort Bond

Lipper category

Ultra-Short Obligations Funds

Ticker

WUSNX

CUSIP

94990B621

Fund number

5101

Gross expense ratio

0.58%

(as of 1/1/2024)

Net expense ratio

0.41%

(as of 1/1/2024)

Fund inception date

11/25/1988

Quick resources

Morningstar Rating™

Out of 204 funds, Ultrashort Bond As of 8/31/2024


An investment’s Overall Morningstar Rating™, based on its risk-adjusted return, is a weighted average of its applicable 3-, 5-, and 10-year Ratings.

Q2 review and outlook

Janet Rilling, Senior Portfolio Manager and Head of the Plus Fixed Income team, discusses key markets events, drivers of fixed income performance in Q2 and changes to the team’s outlook and positioning.

Transcript

Janet Rilling: Welcome to the second quarter 2024 Allspring Plus Fixed Income Team recap. Bond investors saw a range of results, depending on their allocation across the yield curve and the quality makeup of their portfolio. A modest move up in yields across the Treasury curve resulted in negative total returns for high quality and long duration bonds. On the other hand, short duration fixed income segments and higher yielding sectors generally posted positive total returns. It was a classic case of the income component of bonds providing a cushion to offset modest losses from a move higher in rates. Importantly, the quarter marked the beginning of the rate cut cycle in developed markets, including cuts by the Bank of Canada and the European Central Bank. These developed market central bank cuts notably lagged several emerging market central banks that began rate cuts some time ago. Equally important, dispersion rose across developed market central banks as the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) remained on hold. Focusing on the U.S., once again shifting expectations changes in monetary policy by the Fed dominated the bond market’s focus. Bond yields rose sharply in April after the inflation, employment, and growth data at the start of the year suggested that the data-dependent Fed would need to keep rates higher for longer than many investors had been expecting. But during May and June, inflation data came in lower than expected and the unemployment rate rose, which allowed bond yields to modestly fall from their late April highs. Looking forward, these more recent data points provide more runway for the Fed to begin trimming interest rates later in the year. Lastly, elections around the globe added to volatility as results in many cases came in differently than expectations. The upcoming election cycle in the U.S. has the potential to add to the uncertainty in the second half of the year. Looking at credit spreads, which is the additional compensation an investor earns for bearing credit risk, they narrowed through much of the quarter, reaching some of their lowest levels in the last 15 years. By the end of the quarter, however, spreads moved back up, ending the quarter slightly more elevated than where they began. Strong demand due to high all-in yields kept spread widening in check. Further, that strong demand allowed for easy absorption of record new issuance for investment grade bonds, high yield bonds, and leveraged loans. As we look forward, we expect that credit conditions will largely remain healthy, though the Fed’s efforts to combat inflation will remain a challenge for the economy. Our current outlook suggests a more gradual rate cutting path by the Fed, which implies rates will remain higher for longer. This has led us to position portfolios with a neutral duration posture and to find opportunities to earn carry while moving up in quality and reducing our exposure to lower-rated credit sectors where valuations have gotten extreme. We slightly reduced our U.S. investment grade credit and U.S. high yield allocations and added to our U.S. securitized exposure across portfolios during the quarter. We modestly shifted our plus sector exposures in the second quarter by further reducing our exposure to global government bonds and adding slightly to European investment grade credit, given its relative value advantage over its U.S. dollar counterparts. We believe rate and spread volatility will persist. We’ve built optionality into our portfolios and have moved modestly up in quality. We will look to tactically exploit opportunities through timely adjustments to positioning using multiple levers based on our six-month outlook and an unbiased approach. Thank you for your time and please reach out to your Allspring Global Investments contact if you have any questions about any of the topics we discussed here today.

Performance

Average annual returns

Average annual returns

(as of 8/31/2024)
11/25/1988
1M
3M
YTD
1Y
3Y
5Y
10Y
Inception
Fund
0.60
1.80
4.28
6.88
3.27
2.65
1.97
3.65
Bloomberg Short-Term Government/Corporate Bond Index
0.55
1.54
3.62
5.70
3.13
2.31
1.75
-
Bloomberg U.S. 1-3 Year Government/Credit Bond Index
0.91
2.68
3.51
6.25
1.19
1.52
1.55
0.00
Bloomberg U.S. Short Treasury 9-12 Months Index
0.64
1.75
3.46
5.70
2.62
2.08
1.61
-
Expenses (as of 1/1/2024)
Gross Expense Ratio
0.58 %
Net Expense Ratio
0.41 %

One-month, three-month and year-to-date returns are not annualized.

Net asset value (NAV) is the value of one share of the fund excluding any sales charges.

A2 Class shares are sold without a front-end sales charge or contingent deferred sales charge.

The manager has contractually committed, through 12/31/2024, to waive fees and/or reimburse expenses to the extent necessary to cap the fund's total annual fund operating expenses after fee waivers at 0.4%. Brokerage commissions, stamp duty fees, interest, taxes, acquired fund fees and expenses (if any), and extraordinary expenses are excluded from the expense cap. Prior to or after the commitment expiration date, the cap may be increased or the commitment to maintain the cap may be terminated only with the approval of the Board of Trustees. Without this cap, the fund's returns would have been lower. The expense ratio paid by an investor is the net expense ratio (the total annual fund operating expenses after fee waivers) as stated in the prospectus.

Calendar year

Calendar year

(as of 12/31/2023)
2023
2022
2021
2020
2019
2018
2017
2016
2015
2014
Fund
6.44
-0.58
0.17
2.29
3.33
1.45
1.15
1.37
0.17
0.16
Benchmark
5.19
0.69
0.10
1.31
2.69
1.99
0.98
0.80
0.26
0.18
Morningstar
5.96
-0.14
0.20
1.34
3.08
1.61
1.44
1.41
0.17
0.34
Growth of $10,000

Growth of a $10,000 investment

(as of 8/31/2024)

This chart shows the value of a hypothetical $10,000 investment in the fund over the specified time period up to 10 years or since its inception (for funds lacking 10-year records). The result is compared with benchmarks, which may include a broad-based market index and a peer group average or index. Market indexes do not include expenses, which are deducted from fund returns as well as mutual fund averages and indexes.

Does not include sales charges and assumes reinvestment of dividends and capital gains. If sales charges were included, returns would be lower.

Performance and volatility metrics

Performance and volatility metrics

(as of 8/31/2024)
3 Year 5 Year 10 Year
Alpha -1.55 0.10 0.23
Beta 1.55 1.11 1.11
Excess Return 0.14 0.34 0.21
Information Ratio 0.17 0.19 0.17
Sharpe Ratio -0.15 0.17 0.24
R2 0.79 0.17 0.20
Tracking Error 0.79 1.76 1.26
Standard Deviation 1.40 1.92 1.41
Upside Market Capture Ratio 123.86 130.85 125.24
Downside Market Capture Ratio 387.06 375.44 388.72
Morningstar ratings and rankings

Morningstar ratings and rankings

(as of 8/31/2024)
Overall
Ultrashort Bond (Out of 204 funds)
Three Year
47th percentile (94 out of 204)
Five Year
22nd percentile out of 186
Ten Year
26th percentile out of 114

The Overall Morningstar Rating for a fund is derived from a weighted-average of the performance figures associated with its three-, five- and ten-year (if applicable) ratings.

Morningstar rankings represent a fund's total return rank relative to all funds that have the same category. The percentile ranking is based on the fund's total return percentile rank relative to all funds that have the same category for the same time period. The highest (most favorable) percentile rank is 1% and the lowest (least favorable) percentile rank is 100%. Morningstar rankings do not include the effect of sales charges. The absolute ranking is based on the fund’s total return rank relative to all funds that have the same category for the same time period. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

Prices, yields and distributions

Historical prices

YTD high $8.81 10/3/2024
YTD low $8.65 1/4/2024
52-week high $8.81 10/3/2024
52-week low $8.55 10/19/2023
2023 high $8.66 12/31/2023
2023 low $8.40 1/3/2023
Best quarterly return 3.46% 6/30/2020
Worst quarterly return -2.32% 3/31/2020
Best annual return 6.44% 12/31/2023
Worst annual return -0.58% 12/31/2022

Distribution summary

Dividends Monthly/Daily accrual
Capital gains Annually

Yields

Yield Statistic Date
Distribution yield 4.46% 10/9/2024
30-day SEC yield 4.31% 10/8/2024
30-day unsubsidized SEC yield 4.13% 10/8/2024
Yield to maturity 5.34% 8/31/2024
Yield to worst 5.28% 8/31/2024

Distribution history

Distribution history Type Per share amount Re investment price
2024-09-30 Dividend $0.032323383 $8.81
2024-08-30 Dividend $0.032880548 $8.78
2024-07-31 Dividend $0.032330356 $8.76
2024-06-28 Dividend $0.031224217 $8.73
2024-05-31 Dividend $0.031494997 $8.72
2024-04-30 Dividend $0.030274578 $8.70
2024-03-28 Dividend $0.029848553 $8.71
2024-02-29 Dividend $0.028615805 $8.69
2024-01-31 Dividend $0.029131946 $8.69
2023-12-29 Dividend $0.028309125 $8.66
2023-11-30 Dividend $0.025941096 $8.61
2023-10-31 Dividend $0.025101057 $8.56
2023-09-29 Dividend $0.022589565 $8.56
2023-08-31 Dividend $0.022442379 $8.55
2023-07-31 Dividend $0.02351152 $8.53
2023-06-30 Dividend $0.023372265 $8.50
2023-05-31 Dividend $0.022904261 $8.49
2023-04-28 Dividend $0.020852816 $8.48
2023-03-31 Dividend $0.020239039 $8.46
2023-02-28 Dividend $0.018948448 $8.46
2023-01-31 Dividend $0.018299818 $8.47
2022-12-30 Dividend $0.017559281 $8.40
2022-11-30 Dividend $0.01615822 $8.37
2022-10-31 Dividend $0.014402351 $8.33
2022-09-30 Dividend $0.012809798 $8.35
2022-08-31 Dividend $0.012023555 $8.40
2022-07-29 Dividend $0.009393047 $8.41
2022-06-30 Dividend $0.008967086 $8.38
2022-05-31 Dividend $0.008127206 $8.43
2022-04-29 Dividend $0.00734679 $8.44
2022-03-31 Dividend $0.005672445 $8.47
2022-02-28 Dividend $0.004407969 $8.52
2022-01-31 Dividend $0.002994091 $8.55
2021-12-31 Dividend $0.003749153 $8.57
2021-11-30 Dividend $0.003116213 $8.58
2021-10-29 Dividend $0.003273207 $8.59
2021-09-30 Dividend $0.003398566 $8.60
2021-08-31 Dividend $0.003280062 $8.60
2021-07-30 Dividend $0.003684682 $8.60
2021-06-30 Dividend $0.004755395 $8.61
2021-05-28 Dividend $0.005581449 $8.61
2021-04-30 Dividend $0.006028174 $8.61
2021-03-31 Dividend $0.005793578 $8.60
2021-02-26 Dividend $0.006363484 $8.61
2021-01-29 Dividend $0.005806955 $8.61
2020-12-31 Dividend $0.00707839 $8.61
2020-11-30 Dividend $0.007919182 $8.61
2020-10-30 Dividend $0.008139861 $8.59
2020-09-30 Dividend $0.009022291 $8.59
2020-08-31 Dividend $0.010400516 $8.59
2020-07-31 Dividend $0.011476036 $8.58
2020-06-30 Dividend $0.012299472 $8.56
Download CSV

The 30-day SEC yield is calculated with a standardized formula mandated by the SEC. The formula is based on maximum offering price per share and includes the effect of any fee waivers. Without waivers, yields would be reduced. The 30-day unsubsidized SEC yield does not reflect waivers in effect. A fund’s actual distribution rate will differ from the SEC yield and any income distributions from the fund may be higher or lower than the SEC yield.

Composition

Portfolio statistics

Portfolio statistics

(as of 8/31/2024)
Fund Benchmark
Number of Holdings 258 881
Effective Duration 0.76 0.55
Weighted Average Effective Maturity 1.17 0.60
AMT 0.00 0.00
Average Credit Rating AA- AA
Average Maturity 6.75 0.64
Credit Spread Duration 1.03 0.56

Fixed Income Style Box

(as of 8/31/2024) Overview chart

Placement within the Morningstar Equity Style Box is based on two variables: relative median market capitalization and relative price valuations (price/book and price/earnings) of the fund’s portfolio holdings. These numbers are drawn from the fund’s portfolio holdings figures most recently entered into Morningstar’s database and the corresponding market conditions. The Ownership Zone is represented by a shaded area surrounding the centroid. This zone encompasses 75% of a portfolio’s holdings on an asset-weighted basis and is designed to be a visual measure of how wide-ranging the portfolio is.

Credit quality

Credit quality

(as of 8/31/2024)
Type
Fund
Benchmark
AAA/Aaa
36.66% 0.13%
AA/Aa
8.87% 76.72%
A/A
23.01% 12.93%
BBB/Baa
21.82% 10.22%
BB/Ba
0.41% -
B/B
1.18% -
Not rated
4.15% -
Cash & equivalents
3.91% -

The ratings indicated are from Standard & Poor's, Fitch Ratings Ltd., and/or Moody's Investors Service. The percentages of the fund's portfolio with the ratings depicted in the chart are calculated based on total investments of the fund. If a security was rated by all three rating agencies, the middle rating was used. If rated by two of three rating agencies, the lower rating was used, and if rated by one of the agencies, that rating was used. Credit quality is subject to change and may have changed since the date specified. Percent total may not add to 100% due to rounding.

Maturity

Maturity

(as of 8/31/2024)
Maturity Range
Fund
0 - 1 year
36.59%
1 - 3 years
48.60%
3 - 5 years
9.55%
5 - 10 years
5.16%
10 - 20 years
0.10%
20+ years
0.00%

Maturity distribution is subject to change and may have changed since the date specified. Percent total may not add to 100% due to rounding.

Holdings

Top 10 holdings

(as of 9/30/2024)
Security
Fund
US TREASURY N/B
8.54%
U.S. Treasuries
2.17%
U.S. Treasuries
1.78%
SPGN Tflm Mortgage Trust SPGN 2022 TFLM A 144A
1.72%
Domino's Pizza Master Issuer LLC 10/25/2045
1.37%
Renesas Electronics Corporation
1.36%
OPG TRUST OPG 2021 PORT A 144A
1.29%
TPG REAL ESTATE FINANCE TRTX 2022 FL5 A 144A
1.28%
iShares 0-5 Year High Yield Corporate Bond ETF
1.19%
MF1 MULTIFAMILY HOUSING MORTGA MF1 2021 FL7 A 144A
1.16%
Top 10 represents 21.86% of total net assets
Portfolio composition

Portfolio composition

(as of 8/31/2024)
Credit Assets
Allocation
Benchmark
U.S. treasuries
15.35% 71.20%
ABS
10.33% -
CLO
9.67% -
CMBS
4.20% -
CMO
11.77% -
Corporate bonds
48.00% 25.32%
Government-related
0.11% -
MBS
0.58% -

Portfolio composition and maturity distribution are subject to change and may have changed since the date specified. Percent total may not add to 100% due to rounding

Documents

Literature Details Frequency
Fact Sheet C, A, Institutional, Administrator, A2 Monthly Download
Regulatory Document Details Date
Annual Report C, A, Institutional, Administrator, A2 8/31/2023 Download
Full Prospectus A2 1/1/2024 Download
Quarterly Holdings C, A, Institutional, Administrator, A2 11/30/2023 Download
Quarterly Holdings C, A, Institutional, Administrator, A2 5/31/2024 Download
Semi-annual Report C, A, Institutional, Administrator, A2 2/29/2024 Download
Statement of Additional Information C, A, Institutional, Administrator, A2 1/1/2024 Download
Summary Prospectus A2 1/1/2024 Download
Our team
Meet the investment team

The team employs a sector specialist model whereby tenured investment professionals are supported by rigorous credit research to source opportunities across global fixed income markets.

Key risks

All Investing involves risk, including the possible loss of principal. Bond values fluctuate in response to the financial condition of individual issuers, general market and economic conditions, and changes in interest rates. Changes in market conditions and government policies may lead to periods of heightened volatility in the bond market and reduced liquidity for certain bonds held by the fund. In general, when interest rates rise, bond values fall and investors may lose principal value. Interest rate changes and their impact on the fund and its share price can be sudden and unpredictable. Consult the fund’s prospectus for additional information on these and other risks.

Contact Us

We look forward to helping you with your investment needs

 

  
The Morningstar Rating™ for funds, or star rating, is calculated for managed products (including mutual funds, variable annuity and variable life subaccounts, exchange-traded funds, closed-end funds, and separate accounts) with at least a three-year history. Exchange-traded funds and open-ended mutual funds are considered a single population for comparative purposes. It is calculated based on a Morningstar risk-adjusted return measure that accounts for variation in a managed product’s monthly excess performance, placing more emphasis on downward variations and rewarding consistent performance. The Morningstar Rating does not include any adjustment for sales loads. The top 10% of products in each product category receive 5 stars, the next 22.5% receive 4 stars, the next 35% receive 3 stars, the next 22.5% receive 2 stars, and the bottom 10% receive 1 star. The Overall Morningstar Rating for a managed product is derived from a weighted average of the performance figures associated with its 3-, 5-, and 10-year (if applicable) Morningstar Rating metrics. The weights are: 100% 3-year rating for 36–59 months of total returns, 60% 5-year rating/40% 3-year rating for 60–119 months of total returns, and 50% 10-year rating/30% 5-year rating/20% 3-year rating for 120 or more months of total returns. While the 10-year overall star rating formula seems to give the most weight to the 10-year period, the most recent 3-year period actually has the greatest impact because it is included in all three rating periods. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

Some of Morningstar’s proprietary calculations, including the Morningstar Rating™, are not customarily calculated based on adjusted historical returns. However, for new share classes/channels, Morningstar may calculate an extended-performance Morningstar Rating. The extended performance is calculated by adjusting the historical total returns of the oldest share class of a fund to reflect the fee structure of the younger share class/channel, attaching this data to the younger share class’s performance record, and then compounding the adjusted plus actual monthly returns into the extended-performance Morningstar risk-adjusted return for the 3-, 5-, and 10-year time periods. The Morningstar risk-adjusted returns are used to determine the extended-performance Morningstar Rating. The extended-performance Morningstar Rating for this fund does not affect the retail fund data published by Morningstar, as the bell curve distribution on which the ratings are based includes only funds with actual returns. The Overall Morningstar Rating for multi-share funds is based on actual performance only or extended performance only. Once the share class turns three years old, the Overall Morningstar Rating will be based on actual ratings only. The Overall Morningstar Rating for multi-share variable annuities is based on a weighted average of any ratings that are available.

While the inclusion of pre-inception data in the form of extended performance can provide valuable insight into the probable long-term behavior of newer share classes of a fund, investors should be aware that an adjusted historical return can provide only an approximation of that behavior. For example, the fee structures of a retail share class will vary from that of an institutional share class, as retail shares tend to have higher operating expenses and sales charges. These adjusted historical returns are not actual returns. The underlying investments in the share classes used to calculate the pre-performance string likely will vary from the underlying investments held in the fund after inception. Calculation methodologies used by Morningstar may differ from those applied by other entities, including the fund itself.

The manager has contractually committed to certain fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements. Without these reductions, the fund’s returns would have been lower and rankings may have been lower. These reductions may be discontinued.

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Performance for the fund or the class shown may reflect a predecessor fund's or class' performance and may be adjusted to reflect the fund's or class' expenses as applicable.