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Is Franklin Income Advisor (FRIAX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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On the lookout for an Allocation Balanced fund? Starting with Franklin Income Advisor (FRIAX - Free Report) is one possibility. FRIAX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
The world of Zacks' Allocation Balanced funds is an area filled with options, such as FRIAX. These funds like to invest in a variety of asset types, finding a balance between stocks, bonds, cash, and sometimes even precious metals and commodities; they are mostly categorized by their respective asset allocation. For investors, Allocation Balanced funds can provide an entry point into diversified mutual funds, and present core holding options for a portfolio of funds.
History of Fund/Manager
FRIAX finds itself in the Franklin family, based out of San Mateo, CA. Franklin Income Advisor debuted in August of 1948. Since then, FRIAX has accumulated assets of about $13.82 billion, according to the most recently available information. The fund's current manager is a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. FRIAX has a 5-year annualized total return of 6.3% and is in the bottom 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 4.09%, 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. The standard deviation of FRIAX over the past three years is 10.5% compared to the category average of 14.02%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 11.66% compared to the category average of 14.78%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
The fund has a 5-year beta of 0.57, so investors should note that it is hypothetically less volatile than the market at large. Alpha is an additional metric to take into consideration, since it represents a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which in this case, is the S&P 500. FRIAX's 5-year performance has produced a negative alpha of -2.99, which means managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
Expenses
As competition heats up in the mutual fund market, costs become increasingly important. Compared to its otherwise identical counterpart, a low-cost product will be an outperformer, all other things being equal. Thus, taking a closer look at cost-related metrics is vital for investors. In terms of fees, FRIAX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.46% compared to the category average of 0.93%. FRIAX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.
Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $0 and that each subsequent investment has no minimum amount.
Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Bottom Line
Overall, Franklin Income Advisor ( FRIAX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Franklin Income Advisor ( FRIAX ) looks like a great potential choice for investors right now.
Don't stop here for your research on Allocation Balanced 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 FRIAX to its peers 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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Is Franklin Income Advisor (FRIAX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
On the lookout for an Allocation Balanced fund? Starting with Franklin Income Advisor (FRIAX - Free Report) is one possibility. FRIAX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
The world of Zacks' Allocation Balanced funds is an area filled with options, such as FRIAX. These funds like to invest in a variety of asset types, finding a balance between stocks, bonds, cash, and sometimes even precious metals and commodities; they are mostly categorized by their respective asset allocation. For investors, Allocation Balanced funds can provide an entry point into diversified mutual funds, and present core holding options for a portfolio of funds.
History of Fund/Manager
FRIAX finds itself in the Franklin family, based out of San Mateo, CA. Franklin Income Advisor debuted in August of 1948. Since then, FRIAX has accumulated assets of about $13.82 billion, according to the most recently available information. The fund's current manager is a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. FRIAX has a 5-year annualized total return of 6.3% and is in the bottom 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 4.09%, 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. The standard deviation of FRIAX over the past three years is 10.5% compared to the category average of 14.02%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 11.66% compared to the category average of 14.78%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
The fund has a 5-year beta of 0.57, so investors should note that it is hypothetically less volatile than the market at large. Alpha is an additional metric to take into consideration, since it represents a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which in this case, is the S&P 500. FRIAX's 5-year performance has produced a negative alpha of -2.99, which means managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
Expenses
As competition heats up in the mutual fund market, costs become increasingly important. Compared to its otherwise identical counterpart, a low-cost product will be an outperformer, all other things being equal. Thus, taking a closer look at cost-related metrics is vital for investors. In terms of fees, FRIAX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.46% compared to the category average of 0.93%. FRIAX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.
Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $0 and that each subsequent investment has no minimum amount.
Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Bottom Line
Overall, Franklin Income Advisor ( FRIAX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Franklin Income Advisor ( FRIAX ) looks like a great potential choice for investors right now.
Don't stop here for your research on Allocation Balanced 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 FRIAX to its peers 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.