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Is TAIAX a Strong Bond Fund Right Now?

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If investors are looking at the Mutual Fund Bond fund category, American Funds Tax-Advantaged Income A (TAIAX - Free Report) could be a potential option. TAIAX has 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

American Funds is based in Los Angeles, CA, and is the manager of TAIAX. American Funds Tax-Advantaged Income A debuted in May of 2012. Since then, TAIAX has accumulated assets of about $3.29 billion, according to the most recently available information. The fund's current manager is 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 4.58%, 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 3.38%, which places it in the top 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. TAIAX's standard deviation over the past three years is 10.3% compared to the category average of 13.62%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 9.9% compared to the category average of 14.17%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

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, TAIAX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.34% compared to the category average of 0.91%. TAIAX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.

Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $250; 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, American Funds Tax-Advantaged Income A ( TAIAX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, American Funds Tax-Advantaged Income A ( TAIAX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.

This could just be the start of your research on TAIAXin 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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