Looking for a Government Mortgage - Intermediate fund? You may want to consider Wells Fargo Coreblder Shares Series M (WFCMX Quick QuoteWFCMX - Free Report) as a possible option. WFCMX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

WFCMX is one of many Government Mortgage - Intermediate funds to choose from. Government Mortgage - Intermediate funds focus on the mortgage-backed securities (MBS) market. This market takes mortgages, packages them together, and sells off the pooled securities to investors. This particular category focuses on MBS that usually have at least three years to maturity, but less than 10, giving a medium risk and yield profile to funds here.

History of Fund/Manager

Allspring is responsible for WFCMX, and the company is based out of San Francisco, CA. Wells Fargo Coreblder Shares Series M made its debut in February of 2009, and since then, WFCMX has accumulated about $743.09 million in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. A team of investment professionals is the fund's current manager.

Performance

Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 1.81%, and is 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 -0.19%, 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. Over the past three years, WFCMX's standard deviation comes in at 6.8%, compared to the category average of 8.03%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 6.43% compared to the category average of 7.74%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

This fund has a beta of 0.76, meaning that it is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, WFCMX has a positive alpha of 1.65, which measures performance on a risk-adjusted basis.

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, WFCMX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0% compared to the category average of 0.54%. From a cost perspective, WFCMX 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, Wells Fargo Coreblder Shares Series M ( WFCMX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Wells Fargo Coreblder Shares Series M ( WFCMX ) looks like a somewhat average choice for investors right now.

For additional information on this product, or to compare it to other mutual funds in the Government Mortgage - Intermediate, 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.