TIAA-CREF High-Yield InstTIHYX

TIAA-CREF High-Yield is a Zen Master to the high-yield market's Wild Bunch.

That serenity starts with the fund's construction. With only around 7% of its bonds carrying ratings below B--contrasting with a market average of more than 27% according to Barclays at year's end--and a tilt toward the higher tiers in the rest of the portfolio, as well, it is materially better protected from the risks of default than the broader high-yield bond and bond fund spheres.  Read more 

Management focuses on cash-flow analysis and looks for companies that are self-financing. That approach hasn't kept the fund from hitting a few bumps, but it generally favors more-mature sectors of the high-yield market, such as radio and printing, and also means a strong tilt toward the highest rated junk tier of BB, a below-market stake in the market's meaty-middle single B issues, and a near dearth of the most dangerous below B rated (and nonrated) fare.  Read more 

This fund is managed by TIAA-CREF's high-yield team, which was formed in 1995. The group, led by Kevin Lorenz, manages roughly $2 billion in high-yield assets and has this fund off to a terrific start.  Read more 

This fund's managers have delivered decent relative returns in its short history, and the same can be said for their tenure at TIAA-CREF High-Yield Bond. They ran it in the same style before it merged with this fund.  Read more