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High Yield - Bonds fund seekers may want to consider taking a look at AB High Income Fund C (AGDCX - Free Report) . AGDCX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
AGDCX is part of the High Yield - Bonds section, which is a segment that boasts many possible options. Often referred to as " junk " bonds, High Yield - Bonds funds sit below investment grade, meaning they are at a high default risk compared to their investment grade peers. However, one advantage to junk bonds is that they generally pay out higher yields while posing similar interest rate risks to their investment grade counterparts.
History of Fund/Manager
AllianceBernstein is based in New York, NY, and is the manager of AGDCX. The AB High Income Fund C made its debut in February of 1994 and AGDCX has managed to accumulate roughly $416.21 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. AGDCX has a 5-year annualized total return of 4.55% 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 3.89%, which places it in the bottom 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. AGDCX's standard deviation over the past three years is 12.62% compared to the category average of 14.17%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 9.94% compared to the category average of 11.73%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
This fund has a beta of 0.68, meaning that it is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, AGDCX has a positive alpha of 2.51, which measures performance on a risk-adjusted basis.
Ratings
Investors should also consider a bond's rating, which is a grade ( 'AAA' to 'D' ) given to a bond that indicates its credit quality. With this letter scale in mind, AGDCX has 20.45% in medium quality bonds, with ratings of 'A' to 'BBB'. The fund's junk bond component-bonds rated 'BB' or below-is at 63.45%, giving AGDCX an average quality of BBB. This means that it focuses on medium quality securities.
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, AGDCX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.61% compared to the category average of 1%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, AGDCX is actually more expensive than its peers.
Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $2,500 and that each subsequent investment needs to be at $50.
Bottom Line
Overall, AB High Income Fund C ( AGDCX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, average downside risk, and higher fees, AB High Income Fund C ( AGDCX ) looks like a somewhat average choice for investors right now.
Want even more information about AGDCX? Then go over to Zacks.com and check out our mutual fund comparison tool, and all of the other great features that we have to help you with your mutual fund analysis for additional information. For analysis of the rest of your portfolio, make sure to visit Zacks.com for our full suite of tools which will help you investigate all of your stocks and funds in one place.
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Is AGDCX a Strong Bond Fund Right Now?
High Yield - Bonds fund seekers may want to consider taking a look at AB High Income Fund C (AGDCX - Free Report) . AGDCX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
AGDCX is part of the High Yield - Bonds section, which is a segment that boasts many possible options. Often referred to as " junk " bonds, High Yield - Bonds funds sit below investment grade, meaning they are at a high default risk compared to their investment grade peers. However, one advantage to junk bonds is that they generally pay out higher yields while posing similar interest rate risks to their investment grade counterparts.
History of Fund/Manager
AllianceBernstein is based in New York, NY, and is the manager of AGDCX. The AB High Income Fund C made its debut in February of 1994 and AGDCX has managed to accumulate roughly $416.21 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. AGDCX has a 5-year annualized total return of 4.55% 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 3.89%, which places it in the bottom 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. AGDCX's standard deviation over the past three years is 12.62% compared to the category average of 14.17%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 9.94% compared to the category average of 11.73%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
This fund has a beta of 0.68, meaning that it is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, AGDCX has a positive alpha of 2.51, which measures performance on a risk-adjusted basis.
Ratings
Investors should also consider a bond's rating, which is a grade ( 'AAA' to 'D' ) given to a bond that indicates its credit quality. With this letter scale in mind, AGDCX has 20.45% in medium quality bonds, with ratings of 'A' to 'BBB'. The fund's junk bond component-bonds rated 'BB' or below-is at 63.45%, giving AGDCX an average quality of BBB. This means that it focuses on medium quality securities.
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, AGDCX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.61% compared to the category average of 1%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, AGDCX is actually more expensive than its peers.
Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $2,500 and that each subsequent investment needs to be at $50.
Bottom Line
Overall, AB High Income Fund C ( AGDCX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, average downside risk, and higher fees, AB High Income Fund C ( AGDCX ) looks like a somewhat average choice for investors right now.
Want even more information about AGDCX? Then go over to Zacks.com and check out our mutual fund comparison tool, and all of the other great features that we have to help you with your mutual fund analysis for additional information. For analysis of the rest of your portfolio, make sure to visit Zacks.com for our full suite of tools which will help you investigate all of your stocks and funds in one place.