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Is OOSAX a Strong Bond Fund Right Now?

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If investors are looking at the Diversified Bonds fund category, make sure to pass over Oppenheimer Senior Floating Rate A (OOSAX - Free Report) . OOSAX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 4 (Sell), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

The world of Diversified Bonds funds is an area filled with options, such as OOSAX. Investors looking for exposure to a variety of fixed income types that stretch across issuers, maturities, and credit levels will find a good fit with Diversified Bonds funds. Typically, these funds have a solid amount of exposure to government debt, as well as modest holdings in the corporate bond market.

History of Fund/Manager

Invesco is responsible for OOSAX, and the company is based out of Kansas City, MO. The Oppenheimer Senior Floating Rate A made its debut in September of 1999 and OOSAX has managed to accumulate roughly $1.54 billion in assets, as of 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 carries a 5-year annualized total return of 3.23%, and it sits in the bottom 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 6.3%, 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. OOSAX's standard deviation over the past three years is 3.56% compared to the category average of 12.17%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 7.14% 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 -0.22, meaning that it is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, OOSAX has a positive alpha of 1.55, 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, OOSAX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.07% compared to the category average of 0.97%. So, OOSAX is actually more expensive than its peers from a cost perspective.

Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $1,000; 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, Oppenheimer Senior Floating Rate A ( OOSAX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, better downside risk, and higher fees, this fund looks like a somewhat weak choice for investors right now.

Don't stop here for your research on Diversified 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 OOSAX 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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