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There are plenty of choices in the Mutual Fund Bond category, but where should you start your research? Well, one fund that may not be worth investigating is Metropolitan West Total Retail Bond M (MWTRX - Free Report) . MWTRX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 4 (Sell), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
History of Fund/Manager
Metropolitan is based in Los Angeles, CA, and is the manager of MWTRX. The Metropolitan West Total Retail Bond M made its debut in April of 1997 and MWTRX has managed to accumulate roughly $6.41 billion in assets, as of the most recently available information. A team of investment professionals is the fund's current manager.
Performance
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 1.04%, and it sits in the middle 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 -3.24%, which places it in the bottom 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. Over the past three years, MWTRX's standard deviation comes in at 6.92%, compared to the category average of 13.57%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 5.98% compared to the category average of 13.31%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
With a beta of 1.09, this fund is more volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, MWTRX has a negative alpha of -0.09, 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, MWTRX has 60.23% in high quality bonds rated at least 'AA' or higher, while 30.66% are of medium quality, with ratings of 'A' to 'BBB'. The fund has an average quality of AA, 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, MWTRX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.67% compared to the category average of 0.83%. So, MWTRX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.
This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $5,000, while there is no minimum for each subsequent investment.
Bottom Line
Overall, Metropolitan West Total Retail Bond M ( MWTRX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, better downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a somewhat weak choice for investors right now.
This could just be the start of your research on MWTRXin the Mutual Fund Bond category. Consider going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for additional information about this fund, and all the others that we rank 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 MWTRX a Strong Bond Fund Right Now?
There are plenty of choices in the Mutual Fund Bond category, but where should you start your research? Well, one fund that may not be worth investigating is Metropolitan West Total Retail Bond M (MWTRX - Free Report) . MWTRX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 4 (Sell), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
History of Fund/Manager
Metropolitan is based in Los Angeles, CA, and is the manager of MWTRX. The Metropolitan West Total Retail Bond M made its debut in April of 1997 and MWTRX has managed to accumulate roughly $6.41 billion in assets, as of the most recently available information. A team of investment professionals is the fund's current manager.
Performance
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 1.04%, and it sits in the middle 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 -3.24%, which places it in the bottom 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. Over the past three years, MWTRX's standard deviation comes in at 6.92%, compared to the category average of 13.57%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 5.98% compared to the category average of 13.31%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
With a beta of 1.09, this fund is more volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, MWTRX has a negative alpha of -0.09, 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, MWTRX has 60.23% in high quality bonds rated at least 'AA' or higher, while 30.66% are of medium quality, with ratings of 'A' to 'BBB'. The fund has an average quality of AA, 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, MWTRX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.67% compared to the category average of 0.83%. So, MWTRX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.
This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $5,000, while there is no minimum for each subsequent investment.
Bottom Line
Overall, Metropolitan West Total Retail Bond M ( MWTRX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, better downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a somewhat weak choice for investors right now.
This could just be the start of your research on MWTRXin the Mutual Fund Bond category. Consider going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for additional information about this fund, and all the others that we rank 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.