Investment-Grade Corporate Bond Funds

These funds invest principally in the debt obligations of U.S. corporations.
Corporate borrowers range from blue-chip (i.e., large and established)
companies with investment-grade credit ratings to financially distressed
companies with speculative-grade credit ratings. Investment-grade corporate
bond funds generally limit their investments to issues rated Baa or higher by
Moody's Investors. Despite the relatively low credit risk of investment-grade
corporate bond funds, they do not match the quality level of U.S. government
bond funds. As a result, corporate bond funds generally pay higher yields 
than U.S. government bond funds. 
