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Is WFCMX a Strong Bond Fund Right Now?

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Investors in search of a Mutual Fund Bond fund might want to consider looking at Wells Fargo Coreblder Shares Series M (WFCMX - Free Report) . WFCMX has no Zacks Mutual Fund Rank, but we have been able to look into other metrics like performance, volatility, and cost.

History of Fund/Manager

WFCMX is a part of the Allspring family of funds, a company based out of San Francisco, CA. Since Wells Fargo Coreblder Shares Series M made its debut in February of 2009, WFCMX has garnered more than $680.75 million in assets. A team of investment professionals is the fund's current manager.

Performance

Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 1.35%, and it sits in the middle third among its category peers. But if you are looking for a shorter time frame, it is also worth looking at its 3-year annualized total return of -1.74%, which places it in the middle third during this time-frame.

It is important to note that the product's returns may not reflect all its expenses. Any fees not reflected would lower the returns. Total returns do not reflect the fund's [%] sale charge. If sales charges were included, total returns would have been lower.

When looking at a fund's performance, it is also important to note the standard deviation of the returns. The lower the standard deviation, the less volatility the fund experiences. Compared to the category average of 7.12%, the standard deviation of WFCMX over the past three years is 6%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 5.9% compared to the category average of 7.05%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

With a beta of 0.82, this fund is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, WFCMX has a positive alpha of 1.15, which measures performance on a risk-adjusted basis.

Expenses

For investors, taking a closer look at cost-related metrics is key, since costs are increasingly important for mutual fund investing. Competition is heating up in this space, and a lower cost product will likely outperform its otherwise identical counterpart, all things being equal. In terms of fees, WFCMX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0% compared to the category average of 0.77%. From a cost perspective, WFCMX is actually cheaper than its peers.

Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $0 and that each subsequent investment has no minimum amount.

Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.

Bottom Line

Don't stop here for your research on Mutual Fund Bond funds. We also have plenty more on our site in order to help you find the best possible fund for your portfolio. Make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for more information about the world of funds, and feel free to compare WFCMX to its peers as well for additional information. For analysis of the rest of your portfolio, make sure to visit Zacks.com for our full suite of tools which will help you investigate all of your stocks and funds in one place.


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