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Is ACTHX a Strong Bond Fund Right Now?

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If investors are looking at the Mutual Fund Bond fund category, Invesco High Yield Municipals A (ACTHX - Free Report) could be a potential option. ACTHX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

History of Fund/Manager

Invesco is based in Kansas City, MO, and is the manager of ACTHX. The Invesco High Yield Municipals A made its debut in January of 1986 and ACTHX has managed to accumulate roughly $4.75 billion in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by a team of investment professionals.

Performance

Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 0.7%, 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 -1.16%, 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. The standard deviation of ACTHX over the past three years is 8.51% compared to the category average of 13.02%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 8.78% compared to the category average of 13.85%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

With a beta of 1.11, this fund is more volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, ACTHX has a negative alpha of -0.58, 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, ACTHX 's junk bond component-bonds rated 'BB' or below-is at 22.05%. This means that the fund has an average quality of BBB, and focuses on medium quality securities.

However, it is worth noting that 55 % of the bonds in this fund are not ranked, so take the average quality level with a bit of caution.

Expenses

As competition heats up in the mutual fund market, costs become increasingly important. Compared to its otherwise identical counterpart, a low-cost product will be an outperformer, all other things being equal. Thus, taking a closer look at cost-related metrics is vital for investors. In terms of fees, ACTHX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.39% compared to the category average of 0.78%. From a cost perspective, ACTHX is actually more expensive than its peers.

Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $1,000; each subsequent investment needs to be at least $50.

Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.

Bottom Line

Overall, Invesco High Yield Municipals A ( ACTHX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, better downside risk, and higher fees, this fund looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.

Don't stop here for your research on Mutual Fund Bond funds. We also have plenty more on our site in order to help you find the best possible fund for your portfolio. Make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for more information about the world of funds, and feel free to compare ACTHX to its peers as well 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.


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