Allspring Conservative Income Fund

MUTUAL FUND COMMENTARY Q2 2024 ALL INFORMATION IS AS OF 6/30/2024 UNLESS OTHERWISE INDICATED.

Allspring Conservative Income Fund

GENERAL FUND INFORMATION

Ticker: WCIIX

Portfolio managers: Jeffrey Weaver, CFA?; Andrew Greenberg, CFA?; and Anthony Melville, CFA?

Subadvisor: Allspring Global Investments, LLC

Category: Ultrashort bond

FUND STRATEGY

Invests principally in high-quality, U.S.-dollar-denominated, short-term debt securities with fixed, floating, and variable rates, including commercial paper, repurchase agreements, certificates of deposit, time deposits, bankers' acceptances, U.S. government obligations, municipal securities, corporate debt securities, and mortgage- and asset-backed securities

Combines a bottom-up security-level analysis with a top-down macro- economic view to formulate security selection, sector and credit-quality positioning, and duration decisions

The fund may invest up to 30% of its net assets in securities with either a short-term rating of A-2 (or its equiv.) or a long-term rating of BBB (or its equiv.) by one or more Nationally Recognized Statistical Organizations

Although the fund's net asset value will fluctuate, the fund's principal investment strategies are intended to limit volatility; the fund is not a money market fund

Quarterly review

The Conservative Income Fund outperformed the benchmark, the Bloomberg 6-9 Month Treasury Bill Index during the quarter.

Sector allocation, especially in corporates and asset-backed securities, contributed to the performance of the fund.

Market review

The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) kept the federal funds rate unchanged at the current range of 5.25% to 5.50% during the quarter. Inflation data remained elevated above the FOMC's 2% target but did moderate. The Federal Reserve's (Fed's) preferred measure of inflation, the core Personal Consumption Expenditures Index (PCE), dropped from 2.8% to 2.6%. The Summary of Economic Projections (SEP) released by the FOMC on June 12 hawkishly surprised the market by moving to one 25-basis-point (bp; 100 bps equal 1.00%) cut in 2024, down from three at the prior meeting. The drop in core PCE registered on June 28 caused renewed belief that there will be more than one cut this year. Interest rates less than 1 year were relatively stable, while the 2-year and 3-year Treasury ended the quarter up 13 bps and 14 bps to yield 4.75% and 4.55%, respectively.

Corporate spreads were unchanged on the quarter despite being relatively tight by historical data. The sector has registered strong performance as the all-in yield offered by corporates was very attractive. Similar to the corporate market, asset-backed securities (ABS) spreads were unchanged, and the sector exhibited positive excess returns.

AVERAGE ANNUAL TOTAL RETURNS (%) AS OF 6/30/2024*

Conservative Income Fund-Inst

Bloomberg 6-9 Month Treasury Bill Index

Lipper Ultra-Short Obligations Funds Average

3

YEAR 1

MONTH TO DATE YEAR

3 YEAR

5 YEAR

10 YEAR

SINCE FUND INCEPTION (5/31/13)

1.31

2.47

5.70

2.67

2.22

1.74

1.63

1.20

2.20

5.06

2.30

1.85

1.39

1.35

2.81

6.15

2.85

2.30

1.78

*Returns for periods less than one year are not annualized.

Figures quoted represent past performance, which is no guarantee of future results, and do not reflect taxes a shareholder may pay on an investment in a fund. Investment return, principal value, and yields of an investment will fluctuate so that an investor's shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than their original cost. Current performance may be lower or higher than the performance data quoted and assumes the reinvestment of dividends and capital gains. Current month-end performance is available at the fund's website, . Institutional Class shares are sold without a front-end sales charge or contingent deferred sales charge.

The fund's gross expense ratio is 0.41%. The fund's net expense ratio is 0.25%. The manager has contractually committed, through December 31, 2024, to waive fees and/or reimburse expenses to the extent necessary to cap the fund's total annual fund operating expenses after fee waivers at 0.25% for the Institutional Class. Brokerage commissions, stamp duty fees, interest, taxes, acquired fund fees and expenses (if any), and extraordinary expenses are excluded from the expense cap. Prior to or after the commitment expiration date, the cap may be increased or the commitment to maintain the cap may be terminated only with the approval of the Board of Trustees. Without this cap, the fund's returns would have been lower. The expense ratio paid by an investor is the net expense ratio (the total annual fund operating expenses after fee waivers) as stated in the prospectus.

CM215 07-24

(See pages 4-5 for important information.) 1

MUTUAL FUND COMMENTARY Q2 2024 ALL INFORMATION IS AS OF 6/30/2024 UNLESS OTHERWISE INDICATED.

Allspring Conservative Income Fund

PORTFOLIO POSITIONING

PORTFOLIO ATTRIBUTION* AND STRATEGY

Duration--slight detractor

The portfolio's duration was positioned longer than the benchmark during the quarter. As interest rates rose, this positioning was a slight detractor from the performance of the portfolio versus the benchmark.

Yield curve--slight detractor

The portfolio's yield curve positioning relative to the benchmark was a slight detractor from performance. The portfolio had exposure to the 1- and 2-year portions of the yield curve. Interest rates 1 year and beyond moved higher during the quarter. The overweight to the 1- and 2-year parts of the yield curve contributed to underperformance of the portfolio versus the benchmark.

Quality--neutral

AA-rated financials debt held by the fund was a slight detractor from performance. A-rated industrials were a slight contributor to performance. The rest of the credit-quality allocation had a negligible impact on performance, resulting in an overall neutral effect to the performance of the portfolio.

Sector--contributor

Sector allocation was the most significant contributor to performance. The portfolio is invested in corporate notes, ABS, and commercial paper. These sectors performed well during the quarter and the portfolio's allocation to both corporate bonds and structured products were the largest contributors to alpha in the second quarter.

The allocation to the securitized sector was the largest contributor to performance. The ICE BofA AAA U.S. Asset-Backed Securities Index earned 18 bps of excess return in the second quarter. The fund's exposure to the sector averaged 29% during the quarter and is primarily in the form of highly liquid AAA-rated automobile receivables with strong fundamental structures, which are expected to perform well.

The fund's largest exposure during the quarter was to corporate bonds and averaged 68% of the portfolio. The Bloomberg 1?3 Year U.S. Corporate Index returned 15 bps of excess return in the second quarter and the option-adjusted spread on the index remained unchanged at +64 bps. The fund's exposure to corporate bonds was the second-largest contributor to alpha.

Issue selection--contributor

Security selection was a contributor to performance over the quarter. Within the corporate sector, financials was the top subsector. Holdings of GA Global Trust and Allied World Assurance were top contributors. Within the securitized sector, Honda Auto Receivables, Capital One Prime Auto Receivables, and Porsche Financial Auto Securitization Trust performed especially well.

*Performance attribution is discussed gross of expenses. The gross-of-expenses performance attribution does not reflect the deduction of the fund's expenses as shown in the prospectus. 2

MUTUAL FUND COMMENTARY Q2 2024 ALL INFORMATION IS AS OF 6/30/2024 UNLESS OTHERWISE INDICATED.

Allspring Conservative Income Fund

PORTFOLIO CHARACTERISTICS

Avg. eff. duration Weighted average life 30-day SEC yield

ALLSPRING CONSERVATIVE INCOME FUND 0.74

0.89

5.19%

BLOOMBERG 6-9 MONTH TREASURY BILL INDEX 0.63

0.65

CREDIT-QUALITY ALLOCATION (%)1

AAA/Aaa AA/Aa A/A BBB/Baa Cash & equivalents

FUND

BLOOMBERG 6-9 MONTH TREASURY BILL INDEX

26.80

100.00

19.67

0.00

45.21

0.00

5.62

0.00

2.70

0.00

SECTOR ALLOCATION (%)

Cash & equivalents U.S. treasuries Corporate bonds ABS MBS CMO

FUND

BLOOMBERG 6-9 MONTH TREASURY BILL INDEX

2.70

0.00

0.00

100.00

69.04

0.00

26.18

0.00

1.08

0.00

0.99

0.00

1. The ratings indicated are from Standard & Poor's, Fitch Ratings, and/or Moody's Investors Service. The percentages of the fund's portfolio with the ratings depicted in the chart are calculated based on the total investments of the fund. If a security was rated by all three rating agencies, the median rating was used. If a security was rated by two of the three rating agencies, the lower rating was used. If a security was rated by one of the agencies, that rating was used.

Portfolio characteristics, sector weights, and allocations are subject to change and may have changed since the date specified.

Small differences in rounding may occur and percentages may not add up to 100%.

The fund's 30-day unsubsidized SEC yield is 4.98%.

FUND FACTS

Inception date Net expense ratio--Inst Assets--all share classes

5/31/2013 0.25% $127.53M

RANKINGS AND RATINGS Morningstar total return rankings--Institutional Class (as of 6/30/2024)

MORNINGSTAR CATEGORY

ULTRASHORT BOND

1 year 3 year 5 year 10 year

181 out of 250 140 out of 204 113 out of 186 67 out of 113

Overall Morningstar Rating TM

The Overall Morningstar Rating, a weighted average of the 3-, 5-, and 10-year (if applicable) ratings, is out of 204 funds in the Ultrashort bond category, based on risk-adjusted returns as of 6/30/2024.

SHARE CLASS AVAILABILITY

SHARE CLASS Inst

A2

TICKER WCIIX WCIAX

GROSS EXPENSE RATIO (%)

NET EXPENSE RATIO (%)

CONTRACTUAL EXPENSE RATIO WAIVER DATE

0.41

0.25

12/31/2024

0.63

0.40

12/31/2024

The manager has contractually committed to waive fees and/or reimburse expenses to the extent necessary to cap the fund's total annual fund operating expenses after fee waivers at 0.25% (Inst), and 0.40% (A2). Brokerage commissions, stamp duty fees, interest, taxes, acquired fund fees and expenses (if any), and extraordinary expenses are excluded from the expense cap. Prior to or after the commitment expiration date, the cap may be increased or the commitment to maintain the cap may be terminated only with the approval of the Board of Trustees. Without this cap, the fund's returns would have been lower. The expense ratio paid by an investor is the net expense ratio (the total annual fund operating expenses after fee waivers) as stated in the prospectus.

3

MUTUAL FUND COMMENTARY Q2 2024 ALL INFORMATION IS AS OF 6/30/2024 UNLESS OTHERWISE INDICATED.

Allspring Conservative Income Fund

BENCHMARK DESCRIPTIONS:

The Bloomberg 6?9 Month Treasury Bill Index includes all publicly issued zero-coupon U.S. Treasury bills that have a remaining maturity of less than nine months and more than six, are rated investment grade, and have $250 million or more of outstanding face value. You cannot invest directly in an index.

The Lipper averages are compiled by Lipper, Inc., an independent mutual fund research and rating service. Each Lipper average represents a universe of funds that are similar in investment objective. You cannot invest directly in a Lipper average.

The Bloomberg U.S. Corporate Bond Index is an unmanaged market-value-weighted index of investment-grade corporate fixed-rate debt issues with maturities of one year or more. You cannot invest directly in an index.

The Bloomberg 1?3 Year U.S. Corporate Bond Index measures the investment grade, fixed-rate, taxable corporate bond market with 1-3 year maturities. It includes USD denominated securities publicly issued by U.S. and non-U.S. industrial, utility and financial issuers. You cannot invest directly in an index.

The ICE BofA AAA U.S. Asset-Backed Securities Index is a subset of ICE BofA U.S. Fixed-Rate Asset-Backed Securities Index including all securities rated AAA. The ICE BofA U.S. Fixed Rate Asset Backed Securities Index tracks the performance of U.S. dollar-denominated investment-grade, fixed-rate, asset-backed securities publicly issued in the U.S. domestic market. Qualifying securities must have an investment grade rating (based on an average of Moody's, S&P and Fitch). Returns shown are net of transaction costs beginning on July 1, 2022. You cannot invest directly in an index.

Copyright 2024. ICE Data Indices, LLC. All rights reserved.

The Personal Consumption Expenditure (PCE) Core Deflator is a United States-wide indicator of the average increase in prices for all domestic personal consumption. It is benchmarked to a base of 2012 = 100. Using a variety of data including U.S. Consumer Price Index and Producer Price Index prices, it is derived from the largest component of the gross domestic product. You cannot invest directly in an index.

DEFINITION OF TERMS:

30-day SEC yield: The 30-day SEC yield is calculated with a standardized formula mandated by the SEC. The formula is based on maximum offering price per share and includes the effect of any fee waivers. Without waivers, yields would be reduced. The 30-day unsubsidized SEC yield does not reflect waivers in effect. A fund's actual distribution rate will differ from the SEC yield, and any income distributions from the fund may be higher or lower than the SEC yield.

Alpha: measures the difference between a fund's actual returns and its expected performance given its level of risk (as measured by beta).

Beta: measures fund volatility relative to general market movements. It is a standardized measure of systematic risk in comparison with a specified index. The benchmark beta is 1.00 by definition.

Credit-quality ratings: Credit-quality ratings apply to underlying holdings of the fund and not the fund itself. Standard & Poor's and Fitch rate the creditworthiness of bonds from AAA (highest) to D (lowest). Standard & Poor's rates the creditworthiness of short-term notes from SP-1 (highest) to SP-3 (lowest). Ratings from A to CCC may be modified by the addition of a plus (+) or minus (-) sign to show relative standing within the rating categories. Moody's rates the creditworthiness of bonds from Aaa (highest) to CC (lowest). Ratings Aa to B may be modified by the addition of a number 1 (highest) to 3 (lowest) to show relative standing within the ratings categories. Moody's rates the creditworthiness of short-term U.S. tax-exempt municipal securities from MIG-1/VMIG-1 (highest) to SG (lowest). Credit quality and credit-quality ratings are subject to change.

Duration: Duration is a measurement of the sensitivity of a bond's price to changes in Treasury yields. A fund's duration is the weighted average of duration of the bonds in the portfolio. Duration should be interpreted as the approximate change in a bond's (or fund's) price for a 100-basis-point change in Treasury yields. Duration is based on historical performance and does not represent future results.

Weighted average life (WAL): An average of the final maturities of all securities held in the portfolio, weighted by their percentage of total investments. The maturity of a portfolio security is the period remaining until the date on which the principal amount is unconditionally required to be paid, or in the case of a security called for redemption, the date on which the redemption payment is unconditionally required to be made. The calculation of WAL allows for the maturities of certain securities with demand features to be shortened but, unlike the calculation of WAM, does not allow shortening of the maturities of certain securities with periodic interest rate resets. WAL is a way to measure a fund's potential sensitivity to credit spread changes. WAL is subject to change and may have changed since the date specified.

Yield curve: The yield curve is a graphical representation of fixed-income security yields (usually U.S. Treasuries) at their respective maturities, starting with the shortest time to maturity and sequentially plotting in a line chart to the longest maturity. The yield curve is based on historical performance and does not represent future results.

4

MUTUAL FUND COMMENTARY Q2 2024 ALL INFORMATION IS AS OF 6/30/2024 UNLESS OTHERWISE INDICATED.

Allspring Conservative Income Fund

Risks: All investing involves risk, including the possible loss of principal. Bond values fluctuate in response to the financial condition of individual issuers, general market and economic conditions, and changes in interest rates. Changes in market conditions and government policies may lead to periods of heightened volatility in the bond market and reduced liquidity for certain bonds held by the fund. In general, when interest rates rise, bond values fall and investors may lose principal value. Interest rate changes and their impact on the fund and its share price can be sudden and unpredictable. Funds that concentrate their investments in limited sectors, such as gold-related investments, are more vulnerable to adverse market, economic, regulatory, political, or other developments affecting those sectors. Consult the fund's prospectus for additional information on these and other risks.

The Morningstar Rating for funds, or star rating, is calculated for managed products (including mutual funds, variable annuity and variable life subaccounts, exchange-traded funds, closed-end funds, and separate accounts) with at least a three-year history. Exchange-traded funds and open-ended mutual funds are considered a single population for comparative purposes. It is calculated based on a Morningstar risk-adjusted return measure that accounts for variation in a managed product's monthly excess performance, placing more emphasis on downward variations and rewarding consistent performance. The Morningstar Rating does not include any adjustment for sales loads. The top 10% of products in each product 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 a managed product is derived from a weighted average of the performance figures associated with its 3-, 5-, and 10-year (if applicable) Morningstar Rating metrics. The weights are: 100% 3-year rating for 36?59 months of total returns, 60% 5-year rating/40% 3-year rating for 60?119 months of total returns, and 50% 10-year rating/30% 5-year rating/20% 3-year rating for 120 or more months of total returns. While the 10-year overall star rating formula seems to give the most weight to the 10-year period, the most recent 3-year period actually has the greatest impact because it is included in all three rating periods.

Across U.S.-domiciled ultrashort bond funds, the Conservative Income Fund received 3 stars among 204 funds, 3 stars among 186 funds, and 3 stars among 113 funds for the 3-, 5-, and 10-year periods, respectively. The Morningstar Rating is for the Institutional Class only; other classes may have different performance characteristics.

The Morningstar absolute ranking is based on the fund's total return rank relative to all funds that have the same category for the same time period. Morningstar rankings do not include the effect of sales charges. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

? 2024 Morningstar. 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. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

The views expressed and any forward-looking statements are as of June 30, 2024, and are those of the fund managers and/or Allspring Global Investments. Discussions of individual securities or the markets generally are not intended as individual recommendations. Future events or results may vary significantly from those expressed in any forward-looking statements. The views expressed are subject to change at any time in response to changing circumstances in the market. Allspring Global Investments disclaims any obligation to publicly update or revise any views expressed or any forward-looking statements.

Carefully consider a fund's investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses before investing. For a current prospectus and, if available, a summary prospectus, containing this and other information, visit . Read it carefully before investing.

Allspring Global InvestmentsTM is the trade name for the asset management firms of Allspring Global Investments Holdings, LLC, a holding company indirectly owned by certain private funds of GTCR LLC and Reverence Capital Partners, L.P. These firms include but are not limited to Allspring Global Investments, LLC, and Allspring Funds Management, LLC. Certain products managed by Allspring entities are distributed by Allspring Funds Distributor, LLC (a broker-dealer and Member FINRA/SIPC).

CFA? and Chartered Financial Analyst? are trademarks owned by CFA Institute.

? 2024 ALLSPRING GLOBAL INVESTMENTS HOLDINGS, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

MID-2406-Q2CM215 CM215 07-24 5

................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download