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High Yield - Bonds fund seekers should consider taking a look at Eaton Vance Floating-Rate Advantage A (EAFAX - Free Report) . EAFAX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
EAFAX is classified in the High Yield - Bonds segment by Zacks, an area full of investment possibilities. High Yield - Bonds funds come in below investment grade, and are referred to as " junk " bonds for this reason. Compared to their investment grade peers, these funds are at a higher default risk, but typically pay out higher yields while posing similar interest rate risks.
History of Fund/Manager
EAFAX is a part of the Eaton Vance family of funds, a company based out of Boston, MA. The Eaton Vance Floating-Rate Advantage A made its debut in April of 2008 and EAFAX has managed to accumulate roughly $1.12 billion in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund's current manager is a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. EAFAX has a 5-year annualized total return of 4.29% 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 5.19%, 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. EAFAX's standard deviation over the past three years is 4.88% compared to the category average of 12.17%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 8.52% compared to the category average of 13.58%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
This fund has a beta of -0.13, meaning that it is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, EAFAX has a positive alpha of 3.26, which measures performance on a risk-adjusted basis.
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, EAFAX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1% compared to the category average of 0.97%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, EAFAX is actually more expensive than its peers.
Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $1,000 and that each subsequent investment has no minimum amount.
Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Bottom Line
Overall, Eaton Vance Floating-Rate Advantage A ( EAFAX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, better downside risk, and higher fees, this fund looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
For additional information on the High Yield - Bonds area of the mutual fund world, make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds. There, you can see more about the ranking process, and dive even deeper into EAFAX too for additional information. If you want to check out our stock reports as well, make sure to go to Zacks.com to see all of the great tools we have to offer, including our time-tested Zacks Rank.
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Is EAFAX a Strong Bond Fund Right Now?
High Yield - Bonds fund seekers should consider taking a look at Eaton Vance Floating-Rate Advantage A (EAFAX - Free Report) . EAFAX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
EAFAX is classified in the High Yield - Bonds segment by Zacks, an area full of investment possibilities. High Yield - Bonds funds come in below investment grade, and are referred to as " junk " bonds for this reason. Compared to their investment grade peers, these funds are at a higher default risk, but typically pay out higher yields while posing similar interest rate risks.
History of Fund/Manager
EAFAX is a part of the Eaton Vance family of funds, a company based out of Boston, MA. The Eaton Vance Floating-Rate Advantage A made its debut in April of 2008 and EAFAX has managed to accumulate roughly $1.12 billion in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund's current manager is a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. EAFAX has a 5-year annualized total return of 4.29% 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 5.19%, 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. EAFAX's standard deviation over the past three years is 4.88% compared to the category average of 12.17%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 8.52% compared to the category average of 13.58%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
This fund has a beta of -0.13, meaning that it is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, EAFAX has a positive alpha of 3.26, which measures performance on a risk-adjusted basis.
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, EAFAX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1% compared to the category average of 0.97%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, EAFAX is actually more expensive than its peers.
Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $1,000 and that each subsequent investment has no minimum amount.
Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Bottom Line
Overall, Eaton Vance Floating-Rate Advantage A ( EAFAX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, better downside risk, and higher fees, this fund looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
For additional information on the High Yield - Bonds area of the mutual fund world, make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds. There, you can see more about the ranking process, and dive even deeper into EAFAX too for additional information. If you want to check out our stock reports as well, make sure to go to Zacks.com to see all of the great tools we have to offer, including our time-tested Zacks Rank.