Since 2008, global bond funds have become quite the trend among investors all around the world. It has also been seen that the funds from the emerging markets have grown despite the periods of inflows and outflows since 2008. Investors have been on a constant search for better yields both far and wide as the federal reserve steered the monetary policy in the country toward record-low interest rates since the 2008 financial crisis. Therefore, a clear increase was noticed in the inflows into global bond funds. Some funds in the global fund space that provide solid options for their investors would be as follows:
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Vanguard Total International Bond Index Fund (VTIBX)
This provides its investors with broad exposure to investment grade bonds outside the country. The fund is known to work by tracking an index that comprises international government, agency, and corporate debt securities from emerging and developed countries. The average effective maturity of the bonds in these funds is 8.9 years with an average duration of 7.4 years. The less risk exposure to an increase in interest rates is indicated by the lower duration. Having started only in 2013, the fund is known to have $62.3 billion in assets under management.
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Templeton Global Bond Fund (TPINX)
This fund is known to have about $42.5 billion in assets under management and attracts investors with its yield of 2.93%. However, the expense ratio of the fund is slightly higher at 0.88%. The average weighted maturity of the fund is slightly lower at 2.58 years and the portfolio comprises 241 holdings.
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PIMCO Global Bond Unhedged (PIGLX)
This has its main focus on investing in high-quality, developed countries around the world. The yield of this fund is known to be around 1.88%, while there is a reasonable expense ratio at around 0.55%. The bonds in the funds are known to have an effective duration of 7.75 years along with an effective maturity of 11.14 years.