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Is USAIX a Strong Bond Fund Right Now?

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If investors are looking at the Mutual Fund Bond fund category, USAA Income Fund (USAIX - Free Report) could be a potential option. USAIX possesses 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

USAIX finds itself in the Victory family, based out of Columbus, OH. USAA Income Fund made its debut in March of 1974, and since then, USAIX has accumulated about $2.02 billion in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund is currently managed by a team of investment professionals.

Performance

Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 0.82%, 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 -4.13%, which places it in the top 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. The standard deviation of USAIX over the past three years is 6.18% compared to the category average of 12.29%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 6.58% compared to the category average of 12.98%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

With a beta of 0.85, this fund is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, USAIX has a positive alpha of 0.94, 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, USAIX has 34.96% in high quality bonds rated at least 'AA' or higher, while 58% 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

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 0.58% compared to the category average of 0.75%. From a cost perspective, USAIX is actually cheaper than its peers.

This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $3,000, and each subsequent investment should be at least $50.

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

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, this fund 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. Zacks provides a full suite of tools to help you analyze your portfolio - both funds and stocks - in the most efficient way possible.


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