Intermediate Government

Intermediate-government portfolios have at least 90% of their bond holdings in bonds backed by the U.S. government or by government-linked agencies. This backing minimizes the credit risk of these portfolios, as the U.S. government is unlikely to default on its debt. These portfolios have durations between 3.5 and six years (or, if duration is unavailable, average effective maturities between four and 10 years). Consequently, the group's performance--and its level of volatility--tends to fall between that of the short government and long government bond categories. Morningstar®