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Having trouble finding an Investment Grade Bond - Short fund? Well, Fidelity Short-Term Bond (FSHBX - Free Report) would not be a good potential starting point right now. FSHBX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 4 (Sell), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
FSHBX is part of the Investment Grade Bond - Short category, a segment that boasts an array of other possible selections. Investment Grade Bond - Short funds target the short end of the curve by focusing on bonds that mature in less than two years. Fixed income instruments with this maturity level typically have low duration risk and pay out small yields, at least in comparison to their longer-dated peers. Also, these funds tend to be safer because of their focus on investment grade, but yields will be lower than could be found in the junk bond category.
History of Fund/Manager
Fidelity is based in Boston, MA, and is the manager of FSHBX. Fidelity Short-Term Bond debuted in September of 1986. Since then, FSHBX has accumulated assets of about $1.64 billion, according to 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 1.53%, and it sits in the middle third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 0.48%, 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. Over the past three years, FSHBX's standard deviation comes in at 2.06%, compared to the category average of 12.32%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 2.03% compared to the category average of 13.21%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
This fund has a beta of 0.28, meaning that it is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, FSHBX has a positive alpha of 0.04, which measures performance on a risk-adjusted basis.
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, FSHBX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.39% compared to the category average of 0.89%. From a cost perspective, FSHBX is actually cheaper than its peers.
This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $0, while 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, even with its comparatively similar performance, better downside risk, and lower fees, Fidelity Short-Term Bond ( FSHBX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and therefore looks a somewhat weak choice for investors right now.
For additional information on this product, or to compare it to other mutual funds in the Investment Grade Bond - Short, make sure to go to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds 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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Is FSHBX a Strong Bond Fund Right Now?
Having trouble finding an Investment Grade Bond - Short fund? Well, Fidelity Short-Term Bond (FSHBX - Free Report) would not be a good potential starting point right now. FSHBX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 4 (Sell), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
FSHBX is part of the Investment Grade Bond - Short category, a segment that boasts an array of other possible selections. Investment Grade Bond - Short funds target the short end of the curve by focusing on bonds that mature in less than two years. Fixed income instruments with this maturity level typically have low duration risk and pay out small yields, at least in comparison to their longer-dated peers. Also, these funds tend to be safer because of their focus on investment grade, but yields will be lower than could be found in the junk bond category.
History of Fund/Manager
Fidelity is based in Boston, MA, and is the manager of FSHBX. Fidelity Short-Term Bond debuted in September of 1986. Since then, FSHBX has accumulated assets of about $1.64 billion, according to 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 1.53%, and it sits in the middle third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 0.48%, 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. Over the past three years, FSHBX's standard deviation comes in at 2.06%, compared to the category average of 12.32%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 2.03% compared to the category average of 13.21%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
This fund has a beta of 0.28, meaning that it is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, FSHBX has a positive alpha of 0.04, which measures performance on a risk-adjusted basis.
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, FSHBX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.39% compared to the category average of 0.89%. From a cost perspective, FSHBX is actually cheaper than its peers.
This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $0, while 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, even with its comparatively similar performance, better downside risk, and lower fees, Fidelity Short-Term Bond ( FSHBX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and therefore looks a somewhat weak choice for investors right now.
For additional information on this product, or to compare it to other mutual funds in the Investment Grade Bond - Short, make sure to go to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds 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.