WEA Western Asset Premier Bond Fund

Western Asset Premier Bond Fund (NYSE: WEA) announces its portfolio composition as of December 31, 2012.

Investment Objective: The Fund's investment objective is to provide current income and capital appreciation by investing primarily in a diversified portfolio of investment grade bonds.

     

Portfolio Composition*:

Asset Allocation

Mortgage-Backed Securities

 

29.3%

Investment Grade Corporate Bonds

21.5%

High Yield Corporate Bonds

17.1%

Asset-Backed Securities

13.0%

Government

5.4%

Emerging Market

2.7%

Bank Loans

1.4%

Cash & Other Securities

9.6%

 

Credit Quality Allocation**

AAA 11.0% AA 6.3% A 17.2% BBB 22.6% BB 8.5% B 12.6% CCC 7.5% CC 2.9% C 0.6% D 0.4% Not Rated 10.3%  

Top Ten Investment Grade Industries

Transportation 5.2% Banking 3.8% Consumer Cyclical 3.2% Finance Companies 2.1% Communications 1.7% Energy 1.4% Insurance 1.1% Basic Industry 0.7% Electric 0.5% Technology 0.4%  

Top Five High Yield Industries

Communications 3.9% Consumer Cyclical 2.1% Capital Goods 2.0% Basic Industry 1.9% Consumer Non Cyclical 1.6%  

Average Life (years)

5.8

Effective Duration (years)

3.1

Average Coupon (%)

4.7  

Portfolio Statistics:

 

Inception Date

March 28, 2002

Inception Price

$15.00

Total Assets***

$249,108,765

Net Assets

$176,163,860

Loans****

0.00%

Preferred Shares****

28.90%

Reverse Repos****

0.00%  

Market Price

$15.54

NAV

$14.84  

(Daily NAV is available on market quotation systems using the symbol XWEAX.)

       

Distribution Rate

$0.1050 per share

Frequency

Monthly (declared monthly, paid monthly)     *

Portfolio holdings and weightings are historical and are presented here forinformational purposes only and do not include derivatives such as FuturesContracts, Options Written, and Credit Default Swaps. They are subject tochange at any time.

**

Credit quality is a measure of a bond issuer's ability to repay interest andprincipal in a timely manner. The credit ratings shown are based on eachportfolio security's rating as provided by Standard and Poor's, Moody'sInvestors Service and/or Fitch Ratings, Ltd. and typically range from AAA(highest) to D (lowest). For this purpose, if two or more of the agencies haveassigned differing ratings to a security, the highest rating is used. Securitiesthat are unrated by all three agencies are reflected as such. The credit qualityof the investments in the Fund's portfolio does not apply to the stability orsafety of the Fund. These ratings are updated monthly and may change overtime. Please note, the Fund itself has not been rated by an independentrating agency.

***

The difference between total assets and net assets, if any, is due primarily tothe Fund’s use of preferred shares; net assets do not include preferredshares. The Fund may employ leverage in the form of loans, preferred stock,reverse repurchase agreements and/or other instruments. When the Fundengages in transactions that have a leveraging effect on the Fund’s portfolio,the value of the Fund will be more volatile and all other risks will tend to becompounded.

**** Percentages based on total assets.  

Dividends and distributions represent past performance. Past performance is no guarantee of future results and there is no guarantee that dividends and distributions will continue.

Western Asset Premier Bond Fund, a diversified closed-end investment management company, is advised by Western Asset Management Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of Legg Mason, Inc. and is sub-advised by Western Asset Management Company Limited, Western Asset Management Company Pte. Ltd., and Western Asset Management Company Ltd, affiliates of the adviser.

An investment in the Fund involves risk, including loss of principal. Investment return and the value of shares will fluctuate. Fixed income securities are subject to credit risk, inflation risk, call risk, and interest rate risks. As interest rates rise, bond prices fall, reducing the value of the Fund's share price.

Data and commentary provided in this press release are for informational purposes only. Legg Mason and its affiliates do not engage in selling shares of the Fund.

For more information, please call Fund Investor Relations at 888-777-0102 or consult the Fund’s web site at www.leggmason.com/cef.

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