Relative Return
A comprehensive fixed income platform powered by seasoned investors and focused, benchmark aware investment strategies.
$135.4B
Assets Under
Management
32
Investment professionals
32+
Average years of investment industry experience
Numbers as of 09/30/2025
Our investment process is designed to be highly repeatable and draws from our broad and deep research and trading capabilities.
Benchmark relative fixed income products are one of the major building blocks in many fixed income allocations because of their broad utility. They can provide portfolio ballast in times of equity volatility while also offering a return profile sourced from a broad array of the investment grade fixed income universe. Relative Return has an array of products which can be either diversified across fixed income sectors or focused on corporate and credit sectors specifically, as well as exposure to specific “plus” sectors, including high yield, emerging market debt and Treasury inflation-protected securities (TIPS).
These products range across the duration spectrum. While the underlying products may have different durations and investment universes their approaches are defined by active risk management with consistent security selection and an awareness of the credit cycle.
Our Capabilities
We offer a diverse range of benchmark relative investment strategies that form the foundation of our clients’ fixed income allocations.
Strategies are available in institutional separate accounts, mutual funds, commingled trusts, separately managed accounts (SMAs) and bespoke portfolio solutions. All of our strategies depend on the firm’s central resource engines and utilize combinations of bottom up and top-down portfolio inputs.
Core, Short Duration, Intermediate Duration Fixed Income
$50.5B
Invests primarily in US investment grade fixed income securities with a focus on building well-diversified portfolios across sectors, industries, and issuers. Duration is managed close to that of the benchmark.
Core Plus Fixed Income
$40.6B
Tactical positioning and active sector allocation aim to enhance returns. This strategy invests in “plus” sectors including high yield, non-US dollar, collateralized loan obligations (CLOs), bank loans, and Treasury inflation-protected securities (TIPS) for additional yield potential and diversification.
Long Duration Fixed Income Strategies
(Government/Credit, Corporate and Credit)
$11.4 B
Invests primarily in US investment-grade fixed income securities with extended maturities. This approach aims to deliver consistent, long-term returns with effective downside protection, positioning the strategies well for preserving capital and managing liabilities.
Investment Grade Corporate & Credit Bond Strategies
(Full Corporate/Credit Bond and Intermediate Corporate Bond)
$32.9 B
Corporate/credit benchmark-aware risk and return objectives. Duration stays tightly aligned to the benchmark, and historically, security selection and industry allocation have driven strong results. Many of these strategies are bespoke to clients’ specific objectives.
Active US Treasury
$559.2 M
Treasury strategy which integrates deep macroeconomic analysis with quantitative insights to guide decisions in duration, yield curve positioning and TIPS allocations.
Our team culture is well-known for its entrepreneurial spirit where employees are encouraged to develop themselves and their teams to best serve our clients. We encourage constant improvement of our people, performance and processes. We believe this culture exhibits itself in the quality of service we offer our clients.
Risk‑Focused, System‑Backed Portfolio Construction
The Relative Return teams have a strong focus on risk management. Our portfolio construction process integrates several risk management systems, which monitor and measure risk on a daily basis as the team determines whether to manage beta up or down. Additionally, the product team assesses market risk by identifying macroeconomic risk factors and how that impacts the current opportunity set and will adjust the risk of the portfolios accordingly.
We also utilize a number of proprietary tools which help in security selection and portfolio construction.
21 Investment Offerings
| Strategy Name | Type | AUM | Inception Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Core Fixed Income | Fixed | $27.6 billion | 1/1/1984 |
| Core Plus Fixed Income | Fixed | $40.6 billion | 1/1/1986 |
| Core Stable Value Fixed Income | – | $16.9 billion | 3/1/2016 |
| Intermediate Duration Fixed Income | Fixed | $16.7 billion | 1/1/1989 |
| Intermediate Duration Stable Value Fixed Income | – | $6.2 billion | 8/1/2011 |
| Investment Grade Corporate/Credit Bond | Fixed | $32.9 billion | 10/1/2003 |
| Investment Grade Intermediate Corporate Bond | Fixed | $32.9 billion | 10/1/1996 |
| Long Duration Corporate Bond | Fixed | $7 billion | 4/1/2009 |
| Long Duration Credit | Fixed | $7 billion | 4/1/2013 |
| Long Duration Government/Credit | Fixed | $3.4 billion | 3/1/2006 |
| Short Duration Fixed Income | Fixed | $6.2 billion | 8/1/2007 |
| Short Duration Stable Value Fixed Income | – | $4.8 billion | 6/1/2018 |
| Product Name | Asset Class | Documents |
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| Product Name | Team |
|---|---|
| Core Fixed Income Managed Account | Relative Return |
| Core Fixed Income with Securitized Asset Fund Managed Account | Relative Return |
| Core Plus Fixed Income Managed Account | Relative Return |
| Core Total Return Managed Account | Relative Return |
| Government/Credit Managed Account | Relative Return |
| Intermediate Duration Fixed Income Managed Account | Relative Return |
Monthly performance as of 11/30/2025
|
Product Name Ticker • Share Class
|
Asset Class | NAV* | 1Y | 3Y | 5Y | 10Y | Inception | Inception Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Core Plus Bond Fund NERYX • Class Y | Fixed | 11.80 | 6.23% | 4.83% | 0.04% | 2.88% | 5.45% | 12/30/1994 |
| Core Plus Bond Fund NERNX • Class N | Fixed | 11.81 | 6.33% | 4.95% | 0.14% | 2.97% | 2.59% | 2/1/2013 |
| Intermediate Duration Bond Fund LSDIX • Class Y | Fixed | 9.69 | 6.17% | 5.46% | 1.20% | 2.61% | 4.20% | 1/28/1998 |
| Intermediate Duration Bond Fund LSDNX • Class N | Fixed | 9.67 | 6.23% | 5.48% | 1.21% | – | 2.94% | 2/1/2019 |
| Limited Term Government and Agency Fund NELYX • Class Y | Fixed | 10.99 | 5.44% | 4.92% | 1.81% | 1.89% | 3.60% | 3/31/1994 |
| Limited Term Government and Agency Fund LGANX • Class N | Fixed | 10.99 | 5.50% | 4.97% | 1.87% | – | 2.13% | 2/1/2017 |
|
Product Name
Ticker • Share Class
|
Asset Class | NAV* | Prev NAV | % Change | Last Distribution | As of Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Core Plus Bond Fund
NERYX •
Class Y
|
Fixed | $11.70 | $11.70 | 0.00% | $0.0758 | 12/26/2025 |
|
Core Plus Bond Fund
NERNX •
Class N
|
Fixed | $11.71 | $11.71 | 0.00% | $0.0768 | 12/26/2025 |
|
Intermediate Duration Bond Fund
LSDIX •
Class Y
|
Fixed | $9.65 | $9.65 | 0.00% | $0.0439 | 12/26/2025 |
|
Intermediate Duration Bond Fund
LSDNX •
Class N
|
Fixed | $9.64 | $9.63 | 0.10% | $0.0444 | 12/26/2025 |
|
Limited Term Government and Agency Fund
NELYX •
Class Y
|
Fixed | $10.97 | $10.96 | 0.09% | $0.0325 | 12/26/2025 |
|
Limited Term Government and Agency Fund
LGANX •
Class N
|
Fixed | $10.96 | $10.96 | 0.00% | $0.0329 | 12/26/2025 |
|
Product Name
Ticker • Share Class
|
Asset Class | Documents |
|---|---|---|
|
Core Plus Bond Fund
NERYX • Class Y
|
Fixed | |
| Documents | ||
|
Core Plus Bond Fund
NERNX • Class N
|
Fixed | |
| Documents | ||
|
Intermediate Duration Bond Fund
LSDIX • Class Y
|
Fixed | |
| Documents | ||
|
Intermediate Duration Bond Fund
LSDNX • Class N
|
Fixed | |
| Documents | ||
|
Limited Term Government and Agency Fund
NELYX • Class Y
|
Fixed | |
|
Documents
Limited Term Government and Agency Fund Reports
Limited Term Government and Agency Fund Prospectus
Limited Term Government and Agency Fund Attribution
Limited Term Government and Agency Fund Fast Facts
Limited Term Government and Agency Fund Commentary
Limited Term Government and Agency Fund Fact Sheet
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Limited Term Government and Agency Fund
LGANX • Class N
|
Fixed | |
| Documents | ||
*Net asset value is a mutual fund’s price per share. The value is calculated daily, based on the value of the securities in the portfolio at market close.
Gross expense ratio is the fund’s total annual operating expense ratio before any fee waivers or reimbursements.
Net expense ratio is the fund’s total annual operating expense ratio after any fee waivers or reimbursements.
Performance data shown represents past performance and is no guarantee of future results. Total return and value will vary and you may have a gain or loss when shares are sold. Current performance may be lower or higher than quoted. Performance for periods less than one year is cumulative, not annualized. Returns include changes in share price and reinvestment of dividends and capital gains, if any.
Core Plus Bond Fund Gross expense ratio: (N) 0.39%, (Y) 0.50%; Net expense ratio: (N) 0.39%, (Y) 0.48%; As of the most recent prospectus, the investment advisor has contractually agreed to waive fees and/or reimburse expenses (with certain exceptions) once the expense limitation of the fund has been exceeded. This arrangement is set to expire on 1/31/27. When an expense limitation has not been exceeded, the fund may have similar expense ratios.
Intermediate Duration Bond Fund Gross expense ratio: (N) 0.40%, (Y) 0.48%; Net expense ratio: (N) 0.35%, (Y) 0.40%; As of the most recent prospectus, the investment advisor has contractually agreed to waive fees and/or reimburse expenses (with certain exceptions) once the expense limitation of the fund has been exceeded. This arrangement is set to expire on 1/31/26. When an expense limitation has not been exceeded, the fund may have similar expense ratios. Effective August 31, 2016, the Fund’s Institutional Class shares were redesignated as Class Y shares. Accordingly, the returns shown in the table for Class Y shares prior to August 31, 2016 are those of Institutional Class shares. The Fund revised its investment strategies on May 28, 2010; performance may have been different had the current investment strategies been in place for all periods shown.
Limited Term Government and Agency Fund Gross expense ratio: (N) 0.43%, (Y) 0.52%; Net expense ratio: (N) 0.40%, (Y) 0.45%; As of the most recent prospectus, the investment advisor has contractually agreed to waive fees and/or reimburse expenses (with certain exceptions) once the expense limitation of the fund has been exceeded. This arrangement is set to expire on 1/31/26. When an expense limitation has not been exceeded, the fund may have similar expense ratios.
Meet the Team
Thought leadership and insights from the team
Auto Sector Under Pressure: Tariffs, Strategies and Outlook
Andrew Henwood, from the Loomis Sayles Disciplined Alpha Team, discusses the impact of tariffs on autos and evaluating credit risk in an[…]
Global Fixed Income: Outlook & Strategy
The Loomis Sayles Global Fixed Income Team publishes a monthly market outlook & strategy to offer perspectives on the market's movements.
Emerging Markets “Golden Era” Underpins Growth Story
With global banks frequently in the headlines, it’s important that credit investors recognize which factors are more likely to influence bond spreads[…]
Contact the Relative Return team
We’re looking forward to hearing from you.
EJ Tateosian, CFA
Investment Director
Elise Carner, CFA
Investment Director
Kristy Keenan
Associate Investment Director
Ted Cahill
Associate Investment Director
Anna Freedman
Product Management Analyst
Important Disclosures
This marketing communication is provided for informational purposes only and should not be construed as investment advice. Investment decisions should consider the individual circumstances of the particular investor. Any opinions or forecasts contained herein, reflect the subjective judgments and assumptions of the authors only, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Loomis, Sayles & Company, L.P. Investment recommendations may be inconsistent with these opinions. There is no assurance that developments will transpire as forecasted and actual results will be different. Information, including that obtained from outside sources, is believed to be correct, but we cannot guarantee its accuracy. This information is subject to change at any time without notice.
KEY RISKS: Credit Risk, Issuer Risk, Interest Rate Risk, Liquidity Risk, Non-US Securities Risk, Currency Risk, Prepayment Risk and Extension Risk
Investment vehicles may not be available to all investors and are subject to eligibility. There are distinct differences between these vehicles, including but not limited to fee structure, customization ability, and minimum initial investments.
There is no guarantee that the investment objective will be realized or that the strategy will generate positive or excess return.
Beta measures the volatility of a security or a portfolio in comparison to the market as a whole.
Any investment that has the possibility for profits also has the possibility of losses, including the loss of principal.
Diversification does not ensure a profit or guarantee against a loss.
Market conditions are extremely fluid and change frequently.
Past performance is no guarantee of future results.
Before investing, consider the fund’s investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses. You may obtain a prospectus or a summary prospectus containing this and other information on this website. Read it carefully.
Natixis Distribution, LLC (fund distributor, member FINRA|SIPC) and Loomis, Sayles & Company, L.P. are affiliated.