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Is AIANX a Strong Bond Fund Right Now?

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Have you been searching for a Government - Bonds: Misc fund? You might want to begin with American Century Inflation Adjustable Bond Institutional (AIANX - Free Report) . AIANX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

We note that AIANX is a Government - Bonds: Misc option, and this area is loaded with many different choices. Often seen as risk-free assets and described as extremely low-risk from a default perspective, Government - Bonds: Misc funds hold securities issued by the United States' federal government. This category stretches across the curve, meaning the yields and interest rate sensitivity will vary, but a mixed approach can typically result in a medium yield and risk profile.

History of Fund/Manager

AIANX is a part of the American Century family of funds, a company based out of Kansas City, MO. The American Century Inflation Adjustable Bond Institutional made its debut in January of 2003 and AIANX has managed to accumulate roughly $160.54 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. A team of investment professionals is the fund's current manager.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. AIANX has a 5-year annualized total return of 2.77% and is in the top third among its category peers. But if you are looking for a shorter time frame, it is also worth looking at its 3-year annualized total return of -0.1%, 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. The standard deviation of AIANX over the past three years is 7.81% compared to the category average of 13.56%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 6.79% compared to the category average of 14.27%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

With a beta of 0.55, this fund is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, AIANX has a positive alpha of 2.74, 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, AIANX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.34% compared to the category average of 0.91%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, AIANX 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, American Century Inflation Adjustable Bond Institutional ( AIANX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, better downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a somewhat average choice for investors right now.

Your research on the Government - Bonds: Misc segment doesn't have to stop here. You can check out all the great mutual fund tools we have to offer by going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds to see the additional features we offer as well for additional information. And don't forget, Zacks has all of your needs covered on the equity side too! Make sure to check out Zacks.com for more information on our screening capabilities, Rank, and all our articles as well.


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