Summary

• The Fidelity Investment Grade Bond Fund delivered a -0.03% return in the first quarter, outperforming the -0.05% return of the benchmark Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index.
• U.S. taxable investment-grade bonds posted a roughly break-even result in the first quarter, upended in March by a sudden rise in geopolitical risk that pushed Treasury yields higher.
• An underweight in agency mortgage-backed securities hurt the fund's performance, whereas an overweight in U.S. Treasuries helped relative to the benchmark.
• The Fidelity Investment Grade Bond Fund's yield-curve positioning, which employed a steepening strategy, detracted from performance as the curve flattened in the first quarter.
• At quarter end, the Fidelity Investment Grade Bond Fund remained overweight U.S. Treasuries, including nominals and futures, as well as asset-backed securities and commercial mortgage-backed securities.

Taxable Bond Market Review

U.S. taxable investment-grade bonds posted a roughly break-even result in the first quarter, as measured by the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index. A positive start to the year was upended in March by a