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If you have been looking for Muni - Bonds funds, a place to start could be American Funds High Income Municipals Bond A (AMHIX - Free Report) . AMHIX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
We classify AMHIX in the Muni - Bonds category, an area rife with potential choices. Muni - Bonds funds focus their investments on debt securities issued by state and local governments. These are typically used to pay for the construction of infrastructure, the operation of public schools, and other municipal functions. These securities can come in the form of revenue bonds, which are backed by taxes, as well as " general obligation " bonds that are not backed by a defined source. Investors are usually interested that come with most municipal bonds, which can be especially important for those in higher tax brackets.
History of Fund/Manager
American Funds is based in Los Angeles, CA, and is the manager of AMHIX. Since American Funds High Income Municipals Bond A made its debut in September of 1994, AMHIX has garnered more than $3.90 billion in assets. A team of investment professionals is the fund's current manager.
Performance
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 3.92%, and is in the top third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 3.78%, 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 AMHIX over the past three years is 3.54% compared to the category average of 7.28%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 4.38% compared to the category average of 7.37%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Bond Duration
Modified duration is a measure of a specific bond's interest rate sensitivity, and is an excellent way to judge how fixed income securities will respond to a shifting rate environment.
For those that believe interest rates will rise, this is an important factor to consider. AMHIX has a modified duration of 7, which suggests that the fund will decline 7% for every hundred-basis-point increase in interest rates.
Income
We must remember to consider the fund's average coupon, as income is traditionally a big reason for purchasing a fixed income security. Average coupon is a look at the average payout by the fund in a given year. For example, this fund's average coupon of 5.18% means that a $10,000 investment should result in a yearly payout of $518.
A higher coupon is good for those seeking a strong level of current income, but it could also pose a reinvestment risk if rates are lower in the future when compared to the initial purchase date of the bond.
Because income is only one part of the bond picture, investors should also consider risk relative to broad benchmarks. This fund has a beta of 1.17, meaning that it is more volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, AMHIX has a positive alpha of 1.13, 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, AMHIX has 46.1% in medium quality bonds, with ratings of 'A' to 'BBB'. The fund's junk bond component-bonds rated 'BB' or below-is at 22.5%, giving AMHIX an average quality of BBB. This means that it focuses on medium quality securities.
However, it is worth noting that 21 % 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, AMHIX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.71% compared to the category average of 0.87%. So, AMHIX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.
Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $250 and that each subsequent investment needs to be at $50.
Bottom Line
Overall, American Funds High Income Municipals Bond A has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
Your research on the Muni - Bonds segment doesn't have to stop here. You can check out all the great mutual fund tools we have to offer by going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds to see the additional features we offer as well for additional information. If you want to check out our stock reports as well, make sure to go to Zacks.com to see all of the great tools we have to offer, including our time-tested Zacks Rank.
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Is AMHIX a Strong Bond Fund Right Now?
If you have been looking for Muni - Bonds funds, a place to start could be American Funds High Income Municipals Bond A (AMHIX - Free Report) . AMHIX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
We classify AMHIX in the Muni - Bonds category, an area rife with potential choices. Muni - Bonds funds focus their investments on debt securities issued by state and local governments. These are typically used to pay for the construction of infrastructure, the operation of public schools, and other municipal functions. These securities can come in the form of revenue bonds, which are backed by taxes, as well as " general obligation " bonds that are not backed by a defined source. Investors are usually interested that come with most municipal bonds, which can be especially important for those in higher tax brackets.
History of Fund/Manager
American Funds is based in Los Angeles, CA, and is the manager of AMHIX. Since American Funds High Income Municipals Bond A made its debut in September of 1994, AMHIX has garnered more than $3.90 billion in assets. A team of investment professionals is the fund's current manager.
Performance
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 3.92%, and is in the top third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 3.78%, 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 AMHIX over the past three years is 3.54% compared to the category average of 7.28%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 4.38% compared to the category average of 7.37%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Bond Duration
Modified duration is a measure of a specific bond's interest rate sensitivity, and is an excellent way to judge how fixed income securities will respond to a shifting rate environment.
For those that believe interest rates will rise, this is an important factor to consider. AMHIX has a modified duration of 7, which suggests that the fund will decline 7% for every hundred-basis-point increase in interest rates.
Income
We must remember to consider the fund's average coupon, as income is traditionally a big reason for purchasing a fixed income security. Average coupon is a look at the average payout by the fund in a given year. For example, this fund's average coupon of 5.18% means that a $10,000 investment should result in a yearly payout of $518.
A higher coupon is good for those seeking a strong level of current income, but it could also pose a reinvestment risk if rates are lower in the future when compared to the initial purchase date of the bond.
Because income is only one part of the bond picture, investors should also consider risk relative to broad benchmarks. This fund has a beta of 1.17, meaning that it is more volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, AMHIX has a positive alpha of 1.13, 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, AMHIX has 46.1% in medium quality bonds, with ratings of 'A' to 'BBB'. The fund's junk bond component-bonds rated 'BB' or below-is at 22.5%, giving AMHIX an average quality of BBB. This means that it focuses on medium quality securities.
However, it is worth noting that 21 % 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, AMHIX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.71% compared to the category average of 0.87%. So, AMHIX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.
Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $250 and that each subsequent investment needs to be at $50.
Bottom Line
Overall, American Funds High Income Municipals Bond A has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
Your research on the Muni - Bonds segment doesn't have to stop here. You can check out all the great mutual fund tools we have to offer by going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds to see the additional features we offer as well for additional information. If you want to check out our stock reports as well, make sure to go to Zacks.com to see all of the great tools we have to offer, including our time-tested Zacks Rank.