Fixed Income

CoreBuilder® Core Plus SMA

Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index
Benchmark name
2/1/2016
Inception date
Plus Fixed Income Team
Team
$918.6M
Strategy assets
Data as of 3/31/2025
CoreBuilder Core Plus
SMA overview
Foundational fixed income portfolio focusing on our best global ideas
The CoreBuilder® Core Plus SMA aims to deliver total return in excess of the benchmark by using a risk-conscious, relative value approach to pursue upside potential, produce income for shareholders, and manage downside risk.

Increasingly integrated fixed income markets coupled with segmented investor bases can create substantial opportunities to generate attractive returns by allocating across global sectors. 
 
Key differentiators

  • Uses a six-month investment horizon to anticipate market inflection points
  • Allocates up to 35% in Plus sectors and a minimum of 65% to Aggregate sectors
  • Seeks diversified and unbiased sources of alpha to generate compelling returns over market cycle
  • Innovative portfolio structure of the CoreBuilder, captures the benefits of both mutual fund and SMA investing into one hybrid vehicle 

General facts

Current yield

4.88%

(as of 3/31/2025)

Average maturity

9.32 Years

(as of 3/31/2025)

Effective duration

6.04

(as of 7/10/2025)

Yield to worst

5.11

(as of 7/10/2025)

Average credit quality

A+

Quick resources

Fact Sheet

Q2 review and Q3 outlook

Janet Rilling, Senior Portfolio Manager and Head of the Plus Fixed Income team, gives an overview of fixed income markets in Q2 and insight into the team’s outlook and positioning going into Q3.

Transcript

Hannah Rosencrantz: Well, Janet, the second quarter had no shortage of news for investors to really contend with. So, what was your biggest takeaway from the quarter?

Janet Rilling: I think it was really the ability of the market to take all of those consistent drumbeat of headlines really in stride. Volatility certainly spiked, particularly on the April tariff announcement. Then, we had a quick reversion where the equity markets rebounded and credit spreads fully retraced everything by the end of May. And then, the markets largely brushed aside the rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. For the quarter, equities rallied and credit spreads tightened. And where we sit at the end of the first half of 2025 is total positive returns across risk markets. That really underscores investors’ ability to face down uncertainty.

Hannah: Got it. So, markets really showing some resilience in the second quarter. What should investors keep in mind as we enter Q3?

Janet: So, the good news is fixed income markets are offering a cyclically high level of yield, but at the same point in time, the credit risk compensation is generally low. So, I think it's important for investors to be mindful to not overpay for taking on credit risk or not taking an indiscriminate approach to bond investing. Rather, the name of the game is to capture the ample yield that's available by using an approach that emphasizes flexibility and diversification.

Hannah: So, where are you finding pockets of value today and how are you positioning portfolios beyond that to really set them up for success in Q3 and beyond?

Janet: So, a favored portion of the market for us is the securitized space. There's a number of subsectors there, and one of our favored areas is agency mortgage-backed securities. There, we like the technicals, as well as the yield advantage compared to some of the other fixed income sectors. Another exposure we're emphasizing is a modest overweight to duration. We think that presents a good downside hedge. And then, lastly, we're positioning for flexibility. So, we do implement a rolling six-month outlook that helps us identify mispriced securities. And it puts us in a position to be ready for some of the unexpected things that could occur in the third quarter.

Performance

Average annual returns

Average annual returns

(as of 3/31/2025)
2/1/2016
1M
3M
YTD
1Y
3Y
5Y
10Y
Inception
Composite (Pure Gross)
-0.21
2.59
2.59
5.51
1.02
1.99
-
3.40
Composite (Net)
-0.33
2.21
2.21
3.93
-0.49
0.47
-
1.86
Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index
0.04
2.78
2.78
4.88
0.52
-0.40
-
-

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

Performance is historical and does not guarantee future results. For more information, please refer to the GIPS composite report found in the documents section.

Calendar year

Calendar year

(as of 12/31/2024)
2024
2023
Fund
2.38
7.13
Benchmark
1.25
5.53

Performance is historical and does not guarantee future results. For more information, please refer to the GIPS composite report found in the documents section.


Performance and volatility metrics

Performance and volatility metrics

(as of 3/31/2025)
3 Year 5 Year
Alpha 0.48 2.42
Beta 1.07 1.08
Sharpe Ratio -0.42 -0.10
Standard Deviation 8.12 6.96
R2 0.99 0.96
Information Ratio 0.52 1.57
Upside Market Capture Ratio 108.20 129.42
Downside Market Capture Ratio 102.19 95.99
Tracking Error 0.96 1.51
Correlation 1.00 0.98

Composition

Portfolio statistics

Portfolio statistics

(as of 3/31/2025)
SMA Benchmark
Number of Holdings - 13783
AMT 0.00 -
Effective Duration 6.07 5.96
Weighted Average Effective Maturity 9.32 Years 8.57 Years
Average Maturity - -
Average Current Yield 4.88 3.80
Yield to Worst 5.23 4.59

Portfolio holdings, credit quality, and characteristics are based on a representative account. CoreBuilder Shares are a series of investment options within the separately managed accounts advised or subadvised by Allspring Funds Management, LLC. The shares are fee-waived mutual funds that enable certain separately managed account investors to achieve greater diversification than smaller managed accounts might otherwise achieve. Allspring Global Investments, LLC, provides the sub advisory services for the Allspring Funds Management retail managed account product.

Credit quality

Credit quality

(as of 3/31/2025)
Type
SMA
Benchmark
AAA/Aaa
 4.57% 3.35%
AA/Aa
 53.11% 73.33%
A/A
 16.74% 11.29%
BBB/Baa
 16.64% 12.03%
BB/Ba
 5.34% 0.00%
B/B
 2.30% -
CCC/Caa and below
 0.05% -
Not rated
 5.96% -
Cash & equivalents
 -4.72% -
Derivatives
 0.01% -

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 3/31/2025)
Maturity Range
SMA
0 - 1 year
2.47%
1 - 3 years
14.22%
3 - 5 years
26.81%
5 - 10 years
39.91%
10 - 20 years
10.92%
20+ years
10.38%
Derivatives
0.01%

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

Top 10 holdings

Top 10 holdings

(as of 3/31/2025)
Security
SMA
GNMA
7.19%
GNMA
6.81%
U.S. Treasuries
4.57%
GNMA
4.28%
GNMA
2.21%
ConocoPhillips
1.60%
Government Of The United States Of America 4.625% 15-feb-2035
1.57%
Oracle Corporation
1.56%
U.S. Treasuries
1.56%
Citigroup Inc.
1.55%
Top 10 represents 32.90% of total net assets

Largest company weights are based on market value of the representative account and not necessarily held in all client portfolios. The information shown is not intended to be, nor should it be construed to be, a recommendation to buy or sell an individual security. A list of all holdings from the prior one-year period is available upon request.

Portfolio composition

Portfolio composition

(as of 3/31/2025)
Credit Assets
Allocation
Benchmark
ABS
 9.35% 0.45%
Agencies
 0.43% 1.27%
CLO
 0.54% -
CMBS
 2.94% 1.50%
CMO
 2.44% -
Corporate bonds
 33.94% 24.02%
Derivatives
 0.01% -
ETF/Mutual Fund
 0.20% -
Local authorities
 0.03% 0.73%
MBS
 29.49% 24.87%
Sovereign
 0.80% 1.03%
Supranational
 0.12% 1.33%
Treasuries
 19.72% 44.80%

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

Documents

Literature Date
Fact Sheet 3/31/2025 Download
GIPS Report 3/31/2025 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.

View Team
Christopher

Christopher Kauffman

Portfolio Manager
Janet

Janet Rilling

Head of Plus Fixed Income
Michael

Michael Schueller

Portfolio Manager
Michal

Michal Stanczyk

Portfolio Manager
Noah

Noah Wise

Portfolio Manager
Contact Us

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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. Loans are subject to risks similar to those associated with other below-investment-grade bond investments, such as credit risk (for example, risk of issuer default), below-investment-grade bond risk (for example, risk of greater volatility in value), and risk that the loan may become illiquid or difficult to price. The use of derivatives may reduce returns and/or increase volatility. Certain investment strategies tend to increase the total risk of an investment (relative to the broader market). This fund is exposed to foreign investment risk, high-yield securities risk, and mortgage- and asset-backed securities risk. Consult the fund's prospectus for additional information on these and other risks.

Allspring Managed Account Services (the firm) is a unit within Allspring Global Investments and is responsible for the management and administration of the Allspring Funds Management, LLC, retail separately managed account portfolios (wrap portfolios). Allspring Funds Management acts as a discretionary manager for separately managed accounts ("SMA") and as a non-discretionary model provider in a variety of managed account or wrap fee programs (“MA Programs”) sponsored by third party investment advisers, broker-dealers, or other financial services firms (a “Sponsor”). When acting as non-discretionary model provider, Allspring Funds Management responsibility is limited to providing non-discretionary investment recommendations (in the form of model portfolios) to the Sponsor. The Sponsor may use these recommendations in connection with its management of MA Program accounts. In these “model-based” programs, the Sponsor serves as the investment manager and maintains trade implementation responsibility.