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If you have been looking for Muni - Bonds funds, a place to start could be American Century CA High Yield Municipal Investor (BCHYX - Free Report) . BCHYX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
BCHYX is one of many Muni - Bonds funds to choose from. Muni - Bonds funds invest in debt securities issued by states and local municipalities, which are typically used to pay for infrastructure construction, schools, and other government functions. These securities can be backed by taxes (revenue bonds), but others are known as " general obligation " and are not necessarily backed by a defined source. These bonds are especially attractive because of their inherent tax benefits.
History of Fund/Manager
American Century is based in Kansas City, MO, and is the manager of BCHYX. The American Century CA High Yield Municipal Investor made its debut in December of 1986 and BCHYX has managed to accumulate roughly $708.30 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund's current manager, Joseph Gotelli, has been in charge of the fund since January of 2012.
Performance
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 1.25%, and it sits in the middle 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 -1.09%, 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 BCHYX over the past three years is 9.06% compared to the category average of 13.18%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 8.41% compared to the category average of 13.7%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
BCHYX carries a beta of 0.97, 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 0.46, which measures performance on a risk-adjusted basis.
Ratings
However, it is worth noting that 48 % of the bonds in this fund are not ranked, so take the average quality level with a bit of caution.
Expenses
Costs are increasingly important for mutual fund investing, and particularly as competition heats up in this market. And all things being equal, a lower cost product will outperform its otherwise identical counterpart, so taking a closer look at these metrics is key for investors. In terms of fees, BCHYX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.50% compared to the category average of 0.89%. From a cost perspective, BCHYX is actually cheaper than its peers.
Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $2,500; 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, American Century CA High Yield Municipal Investor ( BCHYX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, better downside risk, and lower fees, American Century CA High Yield Municipal Investor ( BCHYX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
For additional information on the Muni - Bonds 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 BCHYX too for additional information. If you are more of a stock investor, make sure to also check out our Zacks Rank, and our full suite of tools we have available for novice and professional investors alike.
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Is BCHYX a Strong Bond Fund Right Now?
If you have been looking for Muni - Bonds funds, a place to start could be American Century CA High Yield Municipal Investor (BCHYX - Free Report) . BCHYX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
BCHYX is one of many Muni - Bonds funds to choose from. Muni - Bonds funds invest in debt securities issued by states and local municipalities, which are typically used to pay for infrastructure construction, schools, and other government functions. These securities can be backed by taxes (revenue bonds), but others are known as " general obligation " and are not necessarily backed by a defined source. These bonds are especially attractive because of their inherent tax benefits.
History of Fund/Manager
American Century is based in Kansas City, MO, and is the manager of BCHYX. The American Century CA High Yield Municipal Investor made its debut in December of 1986 and BCHYX has managed to accumulate roughly $708.30 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund's current manager, Joseph Gotelli, has been in charge of the fund since January of 2012.
Performance
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 1.25%, and it sits in the middle 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 -1.09%, 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 BCHYX over the past three years is 9.06% compared to the category average of 13.18%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 8.41% compared to the category average of 13.7%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
BCHYX carries a beta of 0.97, 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 0.46, which measures performance on a risk-adjusted basis.
Ratings
However, it is worth noting that 48 % of the bonds in this fund are not ranked, so take the average quality level with a bit of caution.
Expenses
Costs are increasingly important for mutual fund investing, and particularly as competition heats up in this market. And all things being equal, a lower cost product will outperform its otherwise identical counterpart, so taking a closer look at these metrics is key for investors. In terms of fees, BCHYX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.50% compared to the category average of 0.89%. From a cost perspective, BCHYX is actually cheaper than its peers.
Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $2,500; 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, American Century CA High Yield Municipal Investor ( BCHYX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, better downside risk, and lower fees, American Century CA High Yield Municipal Investor ( BCHYX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
For additional information on the Muni - Bonds 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 BCHYX too for additional information. If you are more of a stock investor, make sure to also check out our Zacks Rank, and our full suite of tools we have available for novice and professional investors alike.