Having trouble finding a High Yield - Bonds fund? Eaton Vance Floating-Rate Advantage A (EAFAX Quick QuoteEAFAX - Free Report) is a potential starting point. EAFAX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

EAFAX is classified in the High Yield - Bonds segment by Zacks, an area full of investment possibilities. High Yield - Bonds funds come in below investment grade, and are referred to as " junk " bonds for this reason. Compared to their investment grade peers, these funds are at a higher default risk, but typically pay out higher yields while posing similar interest rate risks.

History of Fund/Manager

Eaton Vance is responsible for EAFAX, and the company is based out of Boston, MA. Since Eaton Vance Floating-Rate Advantage A made its debut in April of 2008, EAFAX has garnered more than $1.10 billion in assets. A team of investment professionals is the fund's current manager.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 5.2%, and it sits in the top third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 5.95%, 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 EAFAX over the past three years is 4.87% compared to the category average of 12.22%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 8.49% compared to the category average of 13.49%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

With a beta of -0.15, this fund is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, EAFAX has a positive alpha of 4.01, 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, EAFAX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1% compared to the category average of 0.97%. From a cost perspective, EAFAX is actually more expensive than its peers.

This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $1,000, 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, Eaton Vance Floating-Rate Advantage A ( EAFAX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and higher fees, this fund looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.

For additional information on this product, or to compare it to other mutual funds in the High Yield - Bonds, make sure to go to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds 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.