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Is GAMDX a Strong Bond Fund Right Now?

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If you have been looking for International Bond - Emerging funds, it would not be wise to start your search with Goldman Sachs Local Emerging Markets Debt A (GAMDX - Free Report) . GAMDX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 5 (Strong Sell), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

We classify GAMDX in the International Bond - Emerging category, an area rife with many investment choices. International Bond - Emerging funds focus on fixed income securities from emerging nations from around the globe. This usually results in exposure to economies like China, Brazil, India, South Africa, and Indonesia, just to name a few. Funds here offer geographic diversification, but they can also introduce currency risk into the picture as well.

History of Fund/Manager

Goldman Sachs is based in New York, NY, and is the manager of GAMDX. Goldman Sachs Local Emerging Markets Debt A made its debut in February of 2008, and since then, GAMDX has accumulated about $2.71 million in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund is currently managed by Kay Haigh who has been in charge of the fund since July of 2020.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 0.53%, 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 -1.8%, 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. Compared to the category average of 13.56%, the standard deviation of GAMDX over the past three years is 9.93%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 12.27% compared to the category average of 14.57%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

With a beta of 0.21, this fund is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, GAMDX has a positive alpha of 1.23, 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, GAMDX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.23% compared to the category average of 0.97%. So, GAMDX 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, Goldman Sachs Local Emerging Markets Debt A ( GAMDX ) 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 - Emerging 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 GAMDX 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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