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Having trouble finding a Mutual Fund Bond fund? Frost Total Return Bond Investor (FATRX - Free Report) is a potential starting point. FATRX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
History of Fund/Manager
Frost Funds is based in San Antonio, Tx, and is the manager of FATRX. Since Frost Total Return Bond Investor made its debut in July of 2008, FATRX has garnered more than $283.12 million in assets. The fund's current manager, Jeffery Elswick, has been in charge of the fund since July of 2008.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 1.43%, 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 0.4%, which places it in the top 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. Compared to the category average of 12.57%, the standard deviation of FATRX over the past three years is 5.55%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 4.37% compared to the category average of 10.89%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
This fund has a beta of 0.27, meaning that it is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, FATRX has a positive alpha of 0.74, 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, FATRX has 67.68% in high quality bonds rated at least 'AA' or higher. The fund has an average quality of AA, and focuses on high 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, FATRX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.72% compared to the category average of 0.94%. So, FATRX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.
While the minimum initial investment for the product is $2,500, investors should also note that each subsequent investment needs to be at least $500.
Bottom Line
Overall, Frost Total Return Bond Investor ( FATRX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, better downside risk, and lower 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 Mutual Fund Bond, make sure to go to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds 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 FATRX a Strong Bond Fund Right Now?
Having trouble finding a Mutual Fund Bond fund? Frost Total Return Bond Investor (FATRX - Free Report) is a potential starting point. FATRX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
History of Fund/Manager
Frost Funds is based in San Antonio, Tx, and is the manager of FATRX. Since Frost Total Return Bond Investor made its debut in July of 2008, FATRX has garnered more than $283.12 million in assets. The fund's current manager, Jeffery Elswick, has been in charge of the fund since July of 2008.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 1.43%, 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 0.4%, which places it in the top 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. Compared to the category average of 12.57%, the standard deviation of FATRX over the past three years is 5.55%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 4.37% compared to the category average of 10.89%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
This fund has a beta of 0.27, meaning that it is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, FATRX has a positive alpha of 0.74, 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, FATRX has 67.68% in high quality bonds rated at least 'AA' or higher. The fund has an average quality of AA, and focuses on high 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, FATRX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.72% compared to the category average of 0.94%. So, FATRX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.
While the minimum initial investment for the product is $2,500, investors should also note that each subsequent investment needs to be at least $500.
Bottom Line
Overall, Frost Total Return Bond Investor ( FATRX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, better downside risk, and lower 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 Mutual Fund Bond, make sure to go to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds 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.