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Is FGMNX a Strong Bond Fund Right Now?

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Mutual Fund Bond fund seekers should consider taking a look at Fidelity GNMA Fund (FGMNX - Free Report) . FGMNX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

History of Fund/Manager

FGMNX is a part of the Fidelity family of funds, a company based out of Boston, MA. Fidelity GNMA Fund debuted in November of 1985. Since then, FGMNX has accumulated assets of about $2.44 billion, according to the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by Franco Castagliuolo who has been in charge of the fund since December of 2009.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 0.5%, and it sits in the middle third among its category peers. But if you are looking for a shorter time frame, it is also worth looking at its 3-year annualized total return of -2.84%, 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. The standard deviation of FGMNX over the past three years is 5.94% compared to the category average of 5.4%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 4.86% compared to the category average of 4.78%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

This fund has a beta of 0.88, meaning that it is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, FGMNX has a negative alpha of -0.72, 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, FGMNX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.45% compared to the category average of 0.77%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, FGMNX is actually cheaper than its peers.

Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $0; each subsequent investment has no minimum amount.

Bottom Line

Overall, Fidelity GNMA Fund ( FGMNX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a great potential choice for investors right now.

This could just be the start of your research on FGMNXin the Mutual Fund Bond category. Consider going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for additional information about this fund, and all the others that we rank as well 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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