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Is APIUX a Strong Bond Fund Right Now?

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There are plenty of choices in the Government Bond - Short category, but where should you start your research? Well, one fund that may not be worth investigating is Yorktown Multi-Asset Income A (APIUX - Free Report) . APIUX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 4 (Sell), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

The world of Government Bond - Short funds is an area filled with options, such as APIUX. Government Bond - Short funds hold securities issued by the federal government of the United States of America. These are seen as extremely low risk securities from a default perspective, and are often regarded as risk-free assets. This category focuses on the short end of the curve, and that results in lower yields, but also less sensitivity to interest rate fluctuations, too.

History of Fund/Manager

Yorktown is based in Lynchburg, VA, and is the manager of APIUX. The Yorktown Multi-Asset Income A made its debut in July of 1997 and APIUX has managed to accumulate roughly $145.65 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund's current manager is a team of investment professionals.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 3.85%, 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 4.74%, 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. Over the past three years, APIUX's standard deviation comes in at 7.28%, compared to the category average of 6.24%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 7.16% compared to the category average of 6.17%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

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, APIUX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.11% compared to the category average of 0.72%. APIUX is actually more expensive than its peers when you consider factors like cost.

This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $1,000, and each subsequent investment should be at least $100.

Bottom Line

Overall, Yorktown Multi-Asset Income A has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and higher fees, this fund looks like a poor potential choice for investors right now.

For additional information on the Government Bond - Short area of the mutual fund world, make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds. There, you can see more about the ranking process, and dive even deeper into APIUX too 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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