Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Is OIBAX a Strong Bond Fund Right Now?

Read MoreHide Full Article

Having trouble finding an International Bond - Developed fund? Well, Oppenheimer International Bond A (OIBAX - Free Report) would not be a good potential starting point right now. OIBAX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 5 (Strong Sell), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

The world of International Bond - Developed funds is an area filled with different choices, like OIBAX. International Bond - Developed funds focus on fixed income securities from developed nations besides the United States. This usually results in countries like Japan, Germany, the UK, France, and Australia dominating the list of top holdings. Funds here offer geographic diversification, but they can also introduce currency risk into the picture as well.

History of Fund/Manager

OIBAX is a part of the Invesco family of funds, a company based out of Kansas City, MO. Since Oppenheimer International Bond A made its debut in June of 1995, OIBAX has garnered more than $395.06 million in assets. The fund is currently managed by a team of investment professionals.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. OIBAX has a 5-year annualized total return of -1% 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 -4.77%, 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. OIBAX's standard deviation over the past three years is 10.8% compared to the category average of 13.31%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 12.51% compared to the category average of 14.02%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

This fund has a beta of 0.24, meaning that it is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, OIBAX has a negative alpha of -0.08, which measures performance on a risk-adjusted basis.

Ratings

Investors should also consider a bond's rating, which is a grade ( 'AAA' to 'D' ) given to a bond that indicates its credit quality. With this letter scale in mind, OIBAX has 27.22% in high quality bonds rated at least 'AA' or higher, while 34.26% are of medium quality, with ratings of 'A' to 'BBB'. The fund's junk bond component-bonds rated 'BB' or below-is at 36.04%, giving OIBAX an average quality of BBB. This means that it focuses on medium quality securities.

Expenses

For investors, taking a closer look at cost-related metrics is key, since costs are increasingly important for mutual fund investing. Competition is heating up in this space, and a lower cost product will likely outperform its otherwise identical counterpart, all things being equal. In terms of fees, OIBAX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.03% compared to the category average of 0.93%. So, OIBAX is actually more expensive than its peers from a cost perspective.

While the minimum initial investment for the product is $1,000, 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, Oppenheimer International Bond A ( OIBAX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and higher fees, this fund looks like a poor potential choice for investors right now.

Don't stop here for your research on International Bond - Developed 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 OIBAX to its peers as well 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.


See More Zacks Research for These Tickers


Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:


INVESCO INTL BOND A (OIBAX) - free report >>

Published in