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Is USAIX a Strong Bond Fund Right Now?

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Any investors hoping to find a Mutual Fund Bond fund could think about starting with USAA Income Fund (USAIX - Free Report) . USAIX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

History of Fund/Manager

Victory is based in Columbus, OH, and is the manager of USAIX. USAA Income Fund debuted in March of 1974. Since then, USAIX has accumulated assets of about $2.22 billion, according to the most recently available information. The fund's current manager is a team of investment professionals.

Performance

Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 0.06%, and is in the top third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of -2.91%, which places it in the top third during this time-frame.

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. The standard deviation of USAIX over the past three years is 7.15% compared to the category average of 13.92%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 5.93% compared to the category average of 12.17%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

USAIX carries a beta of 0.83, meaning that the fund is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. With this in mind, it has a positive alpha of 0.72, 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, USAIX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.46% compared to the category average of 0.78%. So, USAIX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.

Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $3,000; each subsequent investment needs to be at least $50.

Bottom Line

Overall, USAA Income Fund ( USAIX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, better downside risk, and lower fees, USAA Income Fund ( USAIX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.

Want even more information about USAIX? Then go over to Zacks.com and check out our mutual fund comparison tool, and all of the other great features that we have to help you with your mutual fund analysis for additional information. Want to learn even more? We have a full suite of tools on stocks that you can use to find the best choices for your portfolio too, no matter what kind of investor you are.


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