# Western Asset Premier Bond Fund (WEA): Closed-End Fund Facts & Distributions > Markdown mirror of https://www.dividenddata.com/funds/wea for AI agents. Same live data as the HTML page, regenerated on the same refresh cycle. Not investment advice. - Issuer: Western Asset · Asset class: Bond - Strategy: Actively Managed · Inception: 2002-03-27 Western Asset Premier Bond Fund is a closed-ended fixed income mutual fund launched and managed by Western Asset Management Company. The fund is co-managed by Western Asset Management Company Limited, Western Asset Management Company Pte. Ltd., and Western Asset Management Company Ltd. It invests in the fixed income markets of the United States. The fund primarily invests in investment grade bonds, including corporate bonds, U.S. government and agency securities, and mortgage related securities. It seeks to maintain an average duration of around two to three years with an average credit qua... ## Key Facts | Metric | Value | |---|---| | Price | $9.67 | | Expense Ratio | 3.55% | | Market Value | $114.7M | | NAV | Not on file (no daily NAV for closed-end funds) | | Holdings Count | — | | Distribution Yield (TTM) | 8.69% | | Annual Distribution (TTM) | $0.84 /share | | Distribution Frequency | Monthly | | 52-Week Range | $9.52 – $11.42 | | Beta | 0.50 | ## Latest Distribution - Amount: $0.0700 /share - Ex-date: 2026-10-23 - Pay date: 2026-10-30 ## Next Distribution (Declared) - Amount: $0.0700 /share - Ex-date: 2026-11-20 - Pay date: 2026-11-30 ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What does WEA invest in? Western Asset Premier Bond Fund is a closed-ended fixed income mutual fund launched and managed by Western Asset Management Company. The fund is co-managed by Western Asset Management Company Limited, Western Asset Management Company Pte. Ltd., and Western Asset Management Company Ltd. It invests in the fixed income markets of the United States. The fund primarily invests in investment grade bonds, including corporate bonds, U.S. government and agency securities, and mortgage related securities. It seeks to maintain an average duration of around two to three years with an average credit quality of BBB. The fund benchmarks the performance of its portfolio against the Barclays Capital U.S. Corporate High Yield Index and the Barclays Capital U.S. Credit Index. Western Asset Premier Bond Fund was formed on March 28, 2002 and is domiciled in the United States. ### What is the expense ratio of WEA? Western Asset Premier Bond Fund (WEA) charges an expense ratio of 3.55%. This is the annual fee deducted from fund assets to cover management and operations. ### What is WEA's dividend yield? WEA's trailing-twelve-month yield is 8.69%, calculated from the sum of dividends over the past year divided by the current price. ### What is the duration of WEA? Effective duration measures WEA's sensitivity to interest-rate changes: a duration of 6 means a 1% rate move shifts NAV by roughly 6% in the opposite direction. WEA's current duration is published on the fund's factsheet on the issuer's website. ### What is the credit quality of WEA? WEA's credit quality breakdown (the share of holdings rated AAA through CCC and below) is published on the fund's factsheet. Higher-quality (investment-grade) funds yield less but carry less default risk than high-yield / junk bond funds. ### What is the yield to maturity of WEA? Yield to maturity (YTM) is the total return you'd earn from WEA if every bond in the portfolio is held to maturity at the current price. WEA's YTM is published on the fund's factsheet on the issuer's website. It differs from the trailing-12-month yield because YTM reflects current bond prices rather than historical income paid. ### Does WEA pay a dividend? Yes, Western Asset Premier Bond Fund (WEA) distributes dividends to shareholders. The trailing-twelve-month yield is 8.69%. Full dividend history is on this page. ### How often does WEA pay dividends? Western Asset Premier Bond Fund pays dividends Monthly. Each ex-dividend date, record date, and payment date is listed in the dividend history table on this page. ### When is WEA's next ex-dividend date? The most recently announced ex-dividend date for WEA was 2026-11-20. The next ex-date typically follows Monthly; once announced it appears at the top of the dividend history table on this page. ### How much will WEA's expense ratio cost me over 30 years? On a $10,000 investment compounding at 7% gross return, a 3.55% expense ratio quietly compounds against your balance every year. The Fee Compounding Forecast card above projects the dollar drag for any holding period and assumption you pick. The typical result for a 1.0% expense ratio on a 30-year hold is roughly 25% of the final balance lost to fees. ### How does WEA charge its expense ratio? The expense ratio is deducted in tiny daily slices from WEA's net asset value (NAV). You never see a bill. The price quoted on every exchange is already net of fees. There's no "fee day" to avoid; the cost is continuous and built into the trading price. ### Why does WEA cost more than a fund like VOO? WEA is actively managed (current expense ratio 3.55%). Active funds charge more than passive index trackers in exchange for the manager's discretion to over- or under-weight positions. The Cost Verdict card above tells you whether WEA's fee is competitive for the active-management cohort. ### Are there cheaper alternatives to WEA? The Lower-Fee Alternatives card above lists closed-end funds following the same investment strategy as WEA (3.55%) but at a lower expense ratio. Each row shows the fee gap, the peer's AUM as a liquidity sanity-check, and a direct link to that fund's analysis page. Cheaper price doesn't automatically mean better. Verify the peer holds what you actually want. ## More on Dividend Data - Overview (HTML): https://www.dividenddata.com/funds/wea - Distribution history: https://www.dividenddata.com/funds/wea/dividend - Holdings & diversification: https://www.dividenddata.com/funds/wea/diversification - Fees & cheaper alternatives: https://www.dividenddata.com/funds/wea/expenses - Peer comparison: https://www.dividenddata.com/funds/wea/peers Data sourced from primary filings and market data providers; see https://www.dividenddata.com/methodology.