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There are plenty of choices in the High Yield - Bonds category, but where should you start your research? Well, one fund that might be worth investigating is Virtus Seix Floating Rate High Income I (SAMBX - Free Report) . SAMBX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
SAMBX 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
Virtus Funds is responsible for SAMBX, and the company is based out of Hartford, CT. Virtus Seix Floating Rate High Income I made its debut in March of 2006, and since then, SAMBX has accumulated about $1.54 billion in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund is currently managed by a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 4.82%, and it sits in the top 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 2.38%, which places it in the middle third during this time-frame.
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. SAMBX's standard deviation over the past three years is 8.35% compared to the category average of 13.32%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 6.73% compared to the category average of 11.05%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
This fund has a beta of 0.04, meaning that it is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, SAMBX has a positive alpha of 3.51, 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, SAMBX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.64% compared to the category average of 1%. So, SAMBX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.
Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $100,000 and that each subsequent investment has no minimum amount.
Bottom Line
Overall, Virtus Seix Floating Rate High Income I ( SAMBX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
For additional information on the High Yield - 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 SAMBX too for additional information. Zacks provides a full suite of tools to help you analyze your portfolio - both funds and stocks - in the most efficient way possible.
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Is SAMBX a Strong Bond Fund Right Now?
There are plenty of choices in the High Yield - Bonds category, but where should you start your research? Well, one fund that might be worth investigating is Virtus Seix Floating Rate High Income I (SAMBX - Free Report) . SAMBX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
SAMBX 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
Virtus Funds is responsible for SAMBX, and the company is based out of Hartford, CT. Virtus Seix Floating Rate High Income I made its debut in March of 2006, and since then, SAMBX has accumulated about $1.54 billion in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund is currently managed by a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 4.82%, and it sits in the top 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 2.38%, which places it in the middle third during this time-frame.
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. SAMBX's standard deviation over the past three years is 8.35% compared to the category average of 13.32%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 6.73% compared to the category average of 11.05%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
This fund has a beta of 0.04, meaning that it is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, SAMBX has a positive alpha of 3.51, 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, SAMBX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.64% compared to the category average of 1%. So, SAMBX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.
Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $100,000 and that each subsequent investment has no minimum amount.
Bottom Line
Overall, Virtus Seix Floating Rate High Income I ( SAMBX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
For additional information on the High Yield - 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 SAMBX too for additional information. Zacks provides a full suite of tools to help you analyze your portfolio - both funds and stocks - in the most efficient way possible.