02/12/96 TABLE: The Bond-Fund Rebound

The Bond-Fund Rebound

Interest rates fell, so most bond funds earned double-digit returns in 1995. The damage from a disastrous 1994 is evident in the three-year returns, which are weaker than the one- or five-year numbers. FUND OBJECTIVE AVERAGE ANNUAL TOTAL RETURN* - BEST PERFORMER 1995 1993-95 1991-95 IN 1995 CONVERTIBLE 22.6% 11.8% 16.4% - Bond Fund for Growth A GOVT.--TREASURY 22.2 9.0 10.2 - Benham Target Maturities 2020 CORP.--GENERAL 18.3 8.4 10.3 - Smith Barney Inv. Grade Bond B MUNI.--CALIFORNIA 17.8 7.3 8.3 - Alliance Muni. Inc. Ins. CA A MULTI-SECTOR BOND 17.8 8.8 12.3 - AIM Income A CORP.--HIGH-YIELD 16.9 10.5 16.9 - IDS Extra Income A WORLD BOND 16.8 8.3 8.1 - Alliance N. Amer. Govt. B MUNI.--NEW YORK 16.6 6.8 8.6 - Lebenthal NY Municipal Bond MUNI.--SINGLE-STATE 16.2 7.1 8.4 - Voyageur FL Insured Tax-Free A GOVT.--MORTGAGE 15.9 6.5 8.0 - Princor Govt. Secs. Income A CORP.--HIGH-QUALITY 15.9 7.2 8.8 - Vanguard F/I L/T Corp. Bond MUNI.--NATIONAL 15.5 7.0 8.2 - Alliance Muni. Inc. Ins. Natl. A GOVT.--GENERAL 15.4 6.3 7.8 - Fidelity Spartan L-T Govt. S-T WORLD-INCOME 9.0 3.4 3.3 - TCW/DW N. Amer. Govt. Inc. GOVT.--ADJ. RATE MTGE. 8.2 4.0 4.9 - Franklin Adj. U.S. Gov. Secs. ALL BOND FUNDS 16.4 7.4 9.3 TAXABLE FUNDS 16.6 7.8 10.4 TAX-FREE FUNDS 16.3 7.1 8.5 * Pretax return, includes reinvestment of dividends and capital gains DATA: MORNINGSTAR INC.