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If you have been looking for Mutual Fund Bond funds, a place to start could be Wells Fargo Municipals Bond Fund A (WMFAX - Free Report) . WMFAX 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
WMFAX finds itself in the Allspring family, based out of San Francisco, CA. The Wells Fargo Municipals Bond Fund A made its debut in April of 2005 and WMFAX has managed to accumulate roughly $859.65 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 1.17%, and it sits in the top third among its category peers. If you're interested in shorter time frames, do not dismiss looking at the fund's 3-year annualized total return of -1.07%, 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. WMFAX's standard deviation over the past three years is 6.32% compared to the category average of 14.77%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 5.12% compared to the category average of 12.87%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
This fund has a beta of 0.71, meaning that it is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, WMFAX has a negative alpha of -0.23, which measures performance on a risk-adjusted basis.
Ratings
Investors should also consider a bond's rating, which is a grade ( 'AAA' to 'D' ) given to a bond that indicates its credit quality. With this letter scale in mind, WMFAX has 43.65% in high quality bonds rated at least 'AA' or higher, while 48.09% are of medium quality, with ratings of 'A' to 'BBB'. The fund has an average quality of A, and focuses on high quality securities.
Expenses
Costs are increasingly important for mutual fund investing, and particularly as competition heats up in this market. And all things being equal, a lower cost product will outperform its otherwise identical counterpart, so taking a closer look at these metrics is key for investors. In terms of fees, WMFAX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.77% compared to the category average of 0.79%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, WMFAX is actually cheaper than its peers.
While the minimum initial investment for the product is $1,000, investors should also note that each subsequent investment needs to be at least $100.
Bottom Line
Overall, Wells Fargo Municipals Bond Fund A ( WMFAX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, better downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
Want even more information about WMFAX? 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. 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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Is WMFAX a Strong Bond Fund Right Now?
If you have been looking for Mutual Fund Bond funds, a place to start could be Wells Fargo Municipals Bond Fund A (WMFAX - Free Report) . WMFAX 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
WMFAX finds itself in the Allspring family, based out of San Francisco, CA. The Wells Fargo Municipals Bond Fund A made its debut in April of 2005 and WMFAX has managed to accumulate roughly $859.65 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 1.17%, and it sits in the top third among its category peers. If you're interested in shorter time frames, do not dismiss looking at the fund's 3-year annualized total return of -1.07%, 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. WMFAX's standard deviation over the past three years is 6.32% compared to the category average of 14.77%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 5.12% compared to the category average of 12.87%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
This fund has a beta of 0.71, meaning that it is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, WMFAX has a negative alpha of -0.23, which measures performance on a risk-adjusted basis.
Ratings
Investors should also consider a bond's rating, which is a grade ( 'AAA' to 'D' ) given to a bond that indicates its credit quality. With this letter scale in mind, WMFAX has 43.65% in high quality bonds rated at least 'AA' or higher, while 48.09% are of medium quality, with ratings of 'A' to 'BBB'. The fund has an average quality of A, and focuses on high quality securities.
Expenses
Costs are increasingly important for mutual fund investing, and particularly as competition heats up in this market. And all things being equal, a lower cost product will outperform its otherwise identical counterpart, so taking a closer look at these metrics is key for investors. In terms of fees, WMFAX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.77% compared to the category average of 0.79%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, WMFAX is actually cheaper than its peers.
While the minimum initial investment for the product is $1,000, investors should also note that each subsequent investment needs to be at least $100.
Bottom Line
Overall, Wells Fargo Municipals Bond Fund A ( WMFAX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, better downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
Want even more information about WMFAX? 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. 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.