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Is American Funds Balanced R3 (RLBCX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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Allocation Balanced fund seekers should consider taking a look at American Funds Balanced R3 (RLBCX - Free Report) . RLBCX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
RLBCX is one of many Zacks' Allocation Balanced mutual funds to pick from. Allocation Balanced funds seek to invest in a balance of asset types, like stocks, bonds, and cash, though including precious metals or commodities is not unusual; these funds are mostly categorized by their respective asset allocation. Investors utilize Allocation Balanced funds as a way to get a good start with diversified mutual funds, as well as for core holdings in a portfolio of funds.
History of Fund/Manager
American Funds is based in Los Angeles, CA, and is the manager of RLBCX. American Funds Balanced R3 made its debut in July of 1975, and since then, RLBCX has accumulated about $2.34 billion in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund's current manager, Dina N. Perry, has been in charge of the fund since March of 2006.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 8.24%, 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 4.22%, 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. Over the past three years, RLBCX's standard deviation comes in at 11.85%, compared to the category average of 14.16%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 11.82% compared to the category average of 15.24%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
The fund has a 5-year beta of 0.62, so investors should note that it is hypothetically less volatile than the market at large. Because alpha represents a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which is the S&P 500 in this case, one should pay attention to this metric as well. The fund has produced a negative alpha over the past 5 years of -2.2, which shows that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
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, RLBCX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.90% compared to the category average of 0.96%. From a cost perspective, RLBCX is actually cheaper than its peers.
While the minimum initial investment for the product is $250, investors should also note that each subsequent investment needs to 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, American Funds Balanced R3 ( RLBCX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
Don't stop here for your research on Allocation Balanced funds. We also have plenty more on our site in order to help you find the best possible fund for your portfolio. Make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for more information about the world of funds, and feel free to compare RLBCX to its peers as well 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 American Funds Balanced R3 (RLBCX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
Allocation Balanced fund seekers should consider taking a look at American Funds Balanced R3 (RLBCX - Free Report) . RLBCX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
RLBCX is one of many Zacks' Allocation Balanced mutual funds to pick from. Allocation Balanced funds seek to invest in a balance of asset types, like stocks, bonds, and cash, though including precious metals or commodities is not unusual; these funds are mostly categorized by their respective asset allocation. Investors utilize Allocation Balanced funds as a way to get a good start with diversified mutual funds, as well as for core holdings in a portfolio of funds.
History of Fund/Manager
American Funds is based in Los Angeles, CA, and is the manager of RLBCX. American Funds Balanced R3 made its debut in July of 1975, and since then, RLBCX has accumulated about $2.34 billion in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund's current manager, Dina N. Perry, has been in charge of the fund since March of 2006.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 8.24%, 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 4.22%, 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. Over the past three years, RLBCX's standard deviation comes in at 11.85%, compared to the category average of 14.16%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 11.82% compared to the category average of 15.24%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
The fund has a 5-year beta of 0.62, so investors should note that it is hypothetically less volatile than the market at large. Because alpha represents a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which is the S&P 500 in this case, one should pay attention to this metric as well. The fund has produced a negative alpha over the past 5 years of -2.2, which shows that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
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, RLBCX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.90% compared to the category average of 0.96%. From a cost perspective, RLBCX is actually cheaper than its peers.
While the minimum initial investment for the product is $250, investors should also note that each subsequent investment needs to 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, American Funds Balanced R3 ( RLBCX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
Don't stop here for your research on Allocation Balanced funds. We also have plenty more on our site in order to help you find the best possible fund for your portfolio. Make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for more information about the world of funds, and feel free to compare RLBCX to its peers as well 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.