Skip to main content

MML Barings Core Bond Fund


As of 03/31/2026

Prior to 2/1/2026, the Fund's name was MassMutual Core Bond Fund

Subadvisor4
Barings LLC
Baring International Investment Limited
Net Assets
$844MIL
Morningstar Category5
Intermediate Core Bond
Inception Date
09/30/1994

Investment Objective

This Fund seeks to achieve a high total rate of return consistent with prudent investment risk and the preservation of capital by investing primarily in a diversified portfolio of investment grade fixed income securities.

Investment Overview

The investment seeks to achieve a high total rate of return consistent with prudent investment risk and the preservation of capital by investing primarily in a diversified portfolio of investment grade fixed income securities. The fund invests at least 80% of its net assets in investment grade fixed income securities. It may invest less than 5% of its total assets in below investment grade debt securities. The fund's portfolio dollar-weighted average duration generally match (within 10%) the average duration of the U.S. Aggregate Bond Index.

Trailing Returns1

Average annual total return

Trailing Returns
QTDYTD1Y3Y5Y10Y 1Since
Incep
MML Barings Core Bond Fund-0.19-0.195.155.220.882.492.90
Bloomberg US Agg Bond Index-0.05-0.054.353.630.311.702.34
Category Average Return--4.243.720.301.73-
Category Rank 3--43104-
# Funds in Category--444417377279-

Performance shown is for Class I shares. Current performance may be higher or lower. Max sales charge for the I shares is 0%.

Category Rank: The Morningstar Category Rank is based on the fund’s total-return percentile rank relative to all funds that have the same category for the same time period. The highest (or most favorable) percentile rank is 1%, and the lowest (or least favorable) percentile rank is 100%. Morningstar total return includes both income and capital gains or losses and is not adjusted for sales charges.

The Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index measures the performance of investment grade, U.S. dollar-denominated, fixed rate, taxable bond securities, including Treasuries, government-related and corporate securities, mortgage-backed securities (MBS) (agency fixed-rate and hybrid ARM pass-throughs), asset-backed securities (ABS), and commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS). The Index does not reflect any fees, expenses, or taxes and cannot be purchased directly by investors.

Calendar Year Returns1

Fund
Bloomberg US Agg Bond Index
2016
2.95%
2.65%
2017
4.64%
3.54%
2018
-0.37%
0.01%
2019
9.64%
8.72%
2020
8.64%
7.51%
2021
0.67%
-1.54%
2022
-15.19%
-13.01%
2023
6.72%
5.53%
2024
3.87%
1.25%
2025
8.13%
7.3%

Expense Ratios

Expense Ratios
CLASSTICKERCUSIPINCEPTION DATEGROSS EXPENSE
RATIO%
NET EXPENSE
RATIO%6
IMCZZX57629H35012/03/20100.35%0.33%
YMMNWX57630C56402/01/20230.45%0.43%
R5MCBDX57629E15909/30/19940.45%0.43%
SVCMCBYX57629E17501/02/19980.55%0.53%
ADMMCBLX57629E18305/03/19990.65%0.63%
AMMCBX57629E16701/02/19980.85%0.83%
R4MCZRX57630C60604/01/20140.80%0.78%
R3MCBNX57629E19112/31/20021.05%1.03%

Fund Rankings1

Fund Rankings
MORNINGSTAR RATING 3FUNDS IN CATEGORY
Overall Rating417
3 Year417
5 Year377
10 Year279

Morningstar Rating™ - For each investment with at least a three-year history, Morningstar calculates a Morningstar Rating™ based on how an investment ranks on a Morningstar Risk-Adjusted Return measure against other investments in the category. This measure takes into account variations in an investment’s monthly performance after adjusting for sales loads (except for load-waived A shares), redemption fees, and the risk-free rate, placing more emphasis on downward variations and rewarding consistent performance. The top 10% of investments in each category receive 5 stars, the next 22.5% receive 4 stars, the next 35% receive 3 stars, the next 22.5% receive 2 stars and the bottom 10% receive 1 star. The Overall Morningstar Rating for an investment is derived from a weighted average of the ratings for the three-, five- and ten-year (if applicable) time periods.

Portfolio Characteristics7

Portfolio Characteristics
Average Maturity13.22 Years
Effective Duration5.72 Years
# of Bond Holdings384
# of Issuers238
Average Bond Price$93.93
Subsidized SEC 30-Day Yield4.88%
Unsubsidized SEC 30-Day Yield4.81%

Risk Statistics2

Risk Statistics
FUNDBENCHMARK
Standard Deviation6.556.39
Information Ratio0.45-
Alpha0.58-
Beta1.001.00
R20.961.00
Tracking Error1.25-
Sharpe Ratio-0.35-0.45
Upside Capture100.69100.00
Downside Capture94.10100.00
Batting Average68.33-

Investment Risk

The Fund’s Principal Risks include - Fixed Income Securities Risk, Mortgage- and Asset-Backed Securities Risk, Bank Loans Risk, Credit Risk, Derivatives Risk, Foreign Investment Risk, Emerging Markets Risk, Currency Risk, Cash Position Risk, Defaulted and Distressed Securities Risk, Dollar Roll and Reverse Repurchase Agreement Transition Risk, Frequent Trading/Portfolio Turnover Risk, Hedging Risk, Inflation Risk, Leveraging Risk, LIBOR Risk, Liquidity Risk, Management Risk, Market Risk, Repurchase Agreement Risk, Restricted Securities Risk, Risk of Investment in Other Funds or Pools, Sector Risk, U.S. Government Securities Risk, Valuation Risk, When-Issued, Delayed Delivery, TBA, and Forward Commitment Transaction Risk. Please refer to the summary prospectus (via the link or by sending an email to fundinfo@massmutual.com) for more information on the specific risks.

1Performance shown is for Class I shares. Performance data given represents past performance and does not guarantee future results. Current performance may be lower or higher than return data quoted herein. For more current information, including month-end performance, please call 1-866-444-2601. The investment return and the principal value of an investment will fluctuate; so an investor’s shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than their original cost. Investment portfolio statistics change over time. Returns shown do not reflect the impact of plan fees, which will reduce performance. Investment portfolio statistics change over time. You cannot invest directly in an index. When pre-inception performance is shown, the Morningstar Rating is based on the oldest surviving share class of the fund and is represented by hollow stars. Performance Returns - reflect performance of the investment without adjusting for sales charges or the effects of taxation, but is adjusted to reflect all actual ongoing investment expenses and assumes reinvestment of dividends and capital gains (if applicable). If adjusted, sales charges would reduce the performance quoted. In addition, due to market volatility, performance may vary greatly over short periods of time. The investment’s performance is generally compared with that of an index. The index is an unmanaged portfolio of specified securities and does not reflect any initial or ongoing expenses nor can it be invested in directly. An investment’s portfolio may differ significantly from the securities in the index. The Index may not be the same as the comparative index noted in the investment’s prospectus (if applicable).

2Risk statistics are calculated over a five year period, computed monthly. Risk Statistics-Information Ratio measures the performance of an investment compared to a benchmark index, after adjusting for its additional risk. Alpha is a measure of the difference between a fund’s actual returns and its expected performance, given its level of risk as measured by beta. A positive alpha figure indicates the fund has performed better than its beta would predict. In contrast, a negative alpha indicates the fund’s underperformance, given the expectations established by the fund’s beta. Beta is a measure of sensitivity to market movements. The beta of the market is 1.00. A beta of 1.10 shows that the fund’s excess return is expected to be 10% better than the market’s excess return in an up market or 10% worse in a down market. A beta of .85 indicates that the fund’s excess return is expected to perform 15% less than the market’s excess return during up markets and 15% greater during down markets. Standard Deviation is a statistical measurement, which for a mutual fund depicts how widely the returns varied over a certain period of time. When a fund has a high standard deviation, performance is wide, implying greater volatility. R-squared (R2) measures the degree of relationship between the performance of the fund and that of the index. The higher the R-squared, the more related the fund’s performance is to its index. Tracking Error is also known as active risk and is the degree to which the strategy differed from its index or benchmark. The higher the Tracking Error, the more the fund deviated from its index. Sharpe Ratio measures risk adjusted performance; it is calculated as the real total return of the fund (total return-risk free rate) divided by the risk of the fund (standard deviation). Upside/downside capture shows whether a given fund has outperformed--gained more or lost less than--a broad market benchmark during periods of market strength and weakness, and if so, by how much. An upside capture ratio over 100 indicates a fund has generally outperformed the benchmark during periods of positive returns for the benchmark. A downside capture ratio of less than 100 indicates that a fund has lost less than its benchmark in periods when the benchmark has been in the red. Batting Average is a measure of a manager’s ability to consistently beat its benchmark over the trailing five-year period. Investors should consider an investment option’s objectives, risks, fees, and expenses carefully before investing. This and other information can be found in the applicable prospectuses or summary prospectuses, which are available from MassMutual by calling 1-866-444-2601. Please read them carefully before investing.

3When the Fund class shown does not have a 1, 3-, 5-, or 10-year performance history, the Morningstar Rating shown for periods beyond the Fund’s inception date are extended ratings. Morningstar provides adjusted historical returns and an Extended Performance Rating for some mutual funds in its universe. This means that any share class that doesn’t have a 1, 3-, 5-, or 10-year performance history may receive a hypothetical Morningstar Rating based on the oldest surviving share class of the fund. First, Morningstar computes the funds’ new return stream by appending an adjusted return history of the oldest share class. Next, the Extended Performance Rating is determined by comparing the adjusted-historical returns to the current open-end mutual fund universe to identify placement in the bell curve used to assign the Morningstar Rating. ©2023 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. The information contained herein: (1) is proprietary to Morningstar and/or its content providers; (2) may not be copied or distributed; and (3) is not warranted to be accurate, complete or timely. Neither Morningstar nor its content providers are responsible for any damages or losses arising from any use of this information.

4When the fund is subadvised by Barings, please be advised that Barings LLC is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company.

5Morningstar Category: identifies funds based on investment styles as measured by their underlying portfolio holdings/ statistics over 3 years. Investment options can move into other categories, or Morningstar may change their classification methodology. Morningstar calculates adjusted historical returns.

6The expenses in the table reflect a contractual agreement by MML Advisers to waive a percentage of the management fees or cap the fees and expenses of the Fund through January 31, 2026. Please refer to the Fund’s prospectus for more information.

7Average Effective Maturity is the dollar-weighted average of all the current maturities of the bonds in a portfolio, taking into account any prepayments, callable positions, and adjustable coupons which may shorten the maturity. The longer the average maturity, the more sensitive the portfolio will be to changes in interest rates. Average Effective Duration measures the sensitivity of the price of a fixed-income investment to a change in interest rates. The higher the duration number, the more sensitive a fixed-income investment will be to those changes. Effective duration takes into account that expected cash flows will fluctuate as interest rates change. This measure is a more direct indication of price sensitivity, and hence value, than Average Effective Maturity.

All funds carry some level of risk. Before you invest, be sure to read the fund’s prospectus and shareholder reports to learn about its investment strategy and the potential risks. Funds with higher rates of return may take risks that are beyond your comfort level and are inconsistent with your financial goals.

Investors should consider funds’ objectives, risks, fees, and expenses carefully before investing. This and other information can be found in the funds’ prospectuses or summary prospectuses, which are available from MassMutual by calling 1-866-444-2601. Please read them carefully before investing.

MassMutual Investments is the marketing name for certain products and/or services of MassMutual and its subsidiaries, including MML Investment Advisers, LLC (MML Advisers). Investment advisory services of MassMutual Investments are provided exclusively by MML Advisers. Principal Underwriter: MML Distributors, LLC. (MMLD), 1295 State St., Springfield, MA 01111. Member FINRA and member SIPC. MMLD and MML Advisers are subsidiaries of MassMutual.

NOT FDIC INSURED • MAY LOSE VALUE • NO BANK GUARANTEE