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Investment Grade Bond - Short fund seekers should consider taking a look at FPA New Income Fund (FPNIX - Free Report) . FPNIX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
We note that FPNIX is an Investment Grade Bond - Short option, which is an area loaded with different options. Investment Grade Bond - Short funds focus on the short end of the curve, generally with bonds that mature in less than two years. Fixed income instruments with this maturity level usually have low duration risk, while they also pay out small yields, at least when compared to their longer-dated peers. Additionally, the focus on investment grade will make funds here safer, but yields will be lower than in the junk bond category.
History of Fund/Manager
FPA is based in Los Angeles, CA, and is the manager of FPNIX. Since FPA New Income Fund made its debut in March of 1969, FPNIX has garnered more than $8.43 billion in assets. The fund is currently managed by Abhijeet Patwardhan who has been in charge of the fund since November of 2015.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 2.03%, and it sits 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 1.78%, 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. FPNIX's standard deviation over the past three years is 2.43% compared to the category average of 2.75%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 2.33% compared to the category average of 3.18%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
FPNIX carries a beta of 0.34, meaning that the fund is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. With this in mind, it has a positive alpha of 0.54, which measures performance on a risk-adjusted basis.
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, FPNIX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.45% compared to the category average of 0.57%. So, FPNIX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.
Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $1,500 and that each subsequent investment needs to be at $100
Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Bottom Line
Overall, FPA New Income Fund ( FPNIX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, FPA New Income Fund ( FPNIX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
For additional information on the Investment Grade Bond - Short 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 FPNIX too 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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Is FPNIX a Strong Bond Fund Right Now?
Investment Grade Bond - Short fund seekers should consider taking a look at FPA New Income Fund (FPNIX - Free Report) . FPNIX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
We note that FPNIX is an Investment Grade Bond - Short option, which is an area loaded with different options. Investment Grade Bond - Short funds focus on the short end of the curve, generally with bonds that mature in less than two years. Fixed income instruments with this maturity level usually have low duration risk, while they also pay out small yields, at least when compared to their longer-dated peers. Additionally, the focus on investment grade will make funds here safer, but yields will be lower than in the junk bond category.
History of Fund/Manager
FPA is based in Los Angeles, CA, and is the manager of FPNIX. Since FPA New Income Fund made its debut in March of 1969, FPNIX has garnered more than $8.43 billion in assets. The fund is currently managed by Abhijeet Patwardhan who has been in charge of the fund since November of 2015.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 2.03%, and it sits 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 1.78%, 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. FPNIX's standard deviation over the past three years is 2.43% compared to the category average of 2.75%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 2.33% compared to the category average of 3.18%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
FPNIX carries a beta of 0.34, meaning that the fund is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. With this in mind, it has a positive alpha of 0.54, which measures performance on a risk-adjusted basis.
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, FPNIX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.45% compared to the category average of 0.57%. So, FPNIX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.
Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $1,500 and that each subsequent investment needs to be at $100
Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Bottom Line
Overall, FPA New Income Fund ( FPNIX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, FPA New Income Fund ( FPNIX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
For additional information on the Investment Grade Bond - Short 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 FPNIX too 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.