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Is Franklin Convertible Securities A (FISCX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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There are plenty of choices in the Convertible Bonds category, but where should you start your research? Well, one fund that might be worth investigating is Franklin Convertible Securities A (FISCX - Free Report) . FISCX has 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
FISCX finds itself in the Franklin family, based out of San Mateo, CA. Franklin Convertible Securities A debuted in April of 1987. Since then, FISCX has accumulated assets of about $961.05 million, according to the most recently available information. Alan E. Muschott is the fund's current manager and has held that role since July of 2002.
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 9.8%, and it sits in the top third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of -1.61%, which places it in the middle 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. FISCX's standard deviation over the past three years is 11.88% compared to the category average of 13.62%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 15.43% compared to the category average of 14.97%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
With a 5-year beta of 0.7, the fund is likely to be less volatile than the market average. Another factor to consider is alpha, as it reflects a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark-in this case, the S&P 500. FISCX's 5-year performance has produced a negative alpha of -0.86, which means managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
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, FISCX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.81% compared to the category average of 1.04%. So, FISCX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.
While the minimum initial investment for the product is $1,000, investors should also note that there is no minimum for each subsequent investment.
Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Bottom Line
Overall, Franklin Convertible Securities A ( FISCX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Franklin Convertible Securities A ( FISCX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
Don't stop here for your research on Convertible Bonds 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 FISCX to its peers as well for additional information. And don't forget, Zacks has all of your needs covered on the equity side too! Make sure to check out Zacks.com for more information on our screening capabilities, Rank, and all our articles as well.
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Is Franklin Convertible Securities A (FISCX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
There are plenty of choices in the Convertible Bonds category, but where should you start your research? Well, one fund that might be worth investigating is Franklin Convertible Securities A (FISCX - Free Report) . FISCX has 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
FISCX finds itself in the Franklin family, based out of San Mateo, CA. Franklin Convertible Securities A debuted in April of 1987. Since then, FISCX has accumulated assets of about $961.05 million, according to the most recently available information. Alan E. Muschott is the fund's current manager and has held that role since July of 2002.
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 9.8%, and it sits in the top third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of -1.61%, which places it in the middle 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. FISCX's standard deviation over the past three years is 11.88% compared to the category average of 13.62%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 15.43% compared to the category average of 14.97%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
With a 5-year beta of 0.7, the fund is likely to be less volatile than the market average. Another factor to consider is alpha, as it reflects a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark-in this case, the S&P 500. FISCX's 5-year performance has produced a negative alpha of -0.86, which means managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
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, FISCX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.81% compared to the category average of 1.04%. So, FISCX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.
While the minimum initial investment for the product is $1,000, investors should also note that there is no minimum for each subsequent investment.
Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Bottom Line
Overall, Franklin Convertible Securities A ( FISCX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Franklin Convertible Securities A ( FISCX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
Don't stop here for your research on Convertible Bonds 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 FISCX to its peers as well for additional information. And don't forget, Zacks has all of your needs covered on the equity side too! Make sure to check out Zacks.com for more information on our screening capabilities, Rank, and all our articles as well.