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Having trouble finding a Mutual Fund Bond fund? Fidelity Total Bond (FTBFX - Free Report) is a potential starting point. FTBFX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
History of Fund/Manager
Fidelity is based in Boston, MA, and is the manager of FTBFX. The Fidelity Total Bond made its debut in October of 2002 and FTBFX has managed to accumulate roughly $13.65 billion in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 0.86%, and is 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 -1.47%, 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 FTBFX over the past three years is 6.42% compared to the category average of 15.38%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 5.3% compared to the category average of 13.4%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
This fund has a beta of 0.87, meaning that it is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, FTBFX has a positive alpha of 0.83, 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, FTBFX has 47.39% in high quality bonds rated at least 'AA' or higher, while 32.08% 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
As competition heats up in the mutual fund market, costs become increasingly important. Compared to its otherwise identical counterpart, a low-cost product will be an outperformer, all other things being equal. Thus, taking a closer look at cost-related metrics is vital for investors. In terms of fees, FTBFX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.45% compared to the category average of 0.82%. From a cost perspective, FTBFX is actually cheaper than its peers.
Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $0; each subsequent investment has no minimum amount.
Bottom Line
Overall, Fidelity Total Bond ( FTBFX ) 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.
Your research on the Mutual Fund Bond segment doesn't have to stop here. You can check out all the great mutual fund tools we have to offer by going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds to see the additional features we offer as well for additional information. If you are more of a stock investor, make sure to also check out our Zacks Rank, and our full suite of tools we have available for novice and professional investors alike.
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Is FTBFX a Strong Bond Fund Right Now?
Having trouble finding a Mutual Fund Bond fund? Fidelity Total Bond (FTBFX - Free Report) is a potential starting point. FTBFX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
History of Fund/Manager
Fidelity is based in Boston, MA, and is the manager of FTBFX. The Fidelity Total Bond made its debut in October of 2002 and FTBFX has managed to accumulate roughly $13.65 billion in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 0.86%, and is 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 -1.47%, 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 FTBFX over the past three years is 6.42% compared to the category average of 15.38%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 5.3% compared to the category average of 13.4%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
This fund has a beta of 0.87, meaning that it is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, FTBFX has a positive alpha of 0.83, 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, FTBFX has 47.39% in high quality bonds rated at least 'AA' or higher, while 32.08% 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
As competition heats up in the mutual fund market, costs become increasingly important. Compared to its otherwise identical counterpart, a low-cost product will be an outperformer, all other things being equal. Thus, taking a closer look at cost-related metrics is vital for investors. In terms of fees, FTBFX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.45% compared to the category average of 0.82%. From a cost perspective, FTBFX is actually cheaper than its peers.
Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $0; each subsequent investment has no minimum amount.
Bottom Line
Overall, Fidelity Total Bond ( FTBFX ) 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.
Your research on the Mutual Fund Bond segment doesn't have to stop here. You can check out all the great mutual fund tools we have to offer by going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds to see the additional features we offer as well for additional information. If you are more of a stock investor, make sure to also check out our Zacks Rank, and our full suite of tools we have available for novice and professional investors alike.