Average Credit Quality Score

The Average Credit Quality Score is an average of the credit rating of the bonds held by a fund. The average is calculated by assigning a value to each underlying bond in the fund based on the relative default rate, which is determined by the credit rating of the bond. It assumes that the odds of default increase as the credit rating decreases. The average default rate is then used to determine the average credit quality of the fund. YCharts displays this average credit quality as a numerical score that coincides with a credit rating based on the table below:

Average Credit Score	Rating
1 to 2	AAA
3 to 5	AA
6 to 8	A
9 to 11	BBB
12 to 14	BB
15 to 17	B
18+	Below B

Unrated bonds will be assigned a B rating. Unrated municipal bonds will be assigned a BBB rating.