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Is DINAX a Strong Bond Fund Right Now?

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If you have been looking for Diversified Bonds funds, a place to start could be Morgan Stanley Global Fixed Income Opportunity A (DINAX - Free Report) . DINAX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

DINAX is one of many Diversified Bonds funds to choose from. Diversified Bonds funds give investors exposure to a variety of fixed income types that span across different issuers, maturities, and credit levels. Usually, these funds will have a good amount of exposure to government debt, in addition to modest holdings in the corporate bond market.

History of Fund/Manager

MorgStanley is based in New York, NY, and is the manager of DINAX. Morgan Stanley Global Fixed Income Opportunity A debuted in August of 1997. Since then, DINAX has accumulated assets of about $91.71 million, according to 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 has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 4.05%, 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 5.55%, 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. Compared to the category average of 8.04%, the standard deviation of DINAX over the past three years is 2.08%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 2.72% compared to the category average of 8.39%. 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, DINAX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.85% compared to the category average of 0.89%. So, DINAX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.

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

Bottom Line

Overall, Morgan Stanley Global Fixed Income Opportunity A ( DINAX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, better downside risk, and lower fees, Morgan Stanley Global Fixed Income Opportunity A ( DINAX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.

This could just be the start of your research on DINAXin the Diversified Bonds 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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