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There are plenty of choices in the Muni - Bonds category, but where should you start your research? Well, one fund that may not be worth investigating is BlackRock Strategic Municipals Opportunities A (MEMTX - Free Report) . MEMTX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 5 (Strong Sell), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
Zacks categorizes MEMTX as Muni - Bonds, which is a segment packed with options. Muni - Bonds funds invest in debt securities issued by states or local municipalities. These are generally used to finance construction of infrastructure, pay for schools, or other government functions. Some are backed by taxes (revenue bonds), while others are " general obligation " and may not be backed by a defined source. Investors usually appreciate the tax benefits that come with many municipal bonds, which are especially impressive for those in high tax brackets.
History of Fund/Manager
MEMTX is a part of the BlackRock family of funds, a company based out of New York, NY. BlackRock Strategic Municipals Opportunities A made its debut in October of 2006, and since then, MEMTX has accumulated about $1.82 billion in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund is currently managed by a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. MEMTX has a 5-year annualized total return of 1.53% 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 0.5%, which places it in the bottom 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 MEMTX over the past three years is 6.08% compared to the category average of 10.79%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 5.33% compared to the category average of 9.94%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
This fund has a beta of 0.44, meaning that it is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, MEMTX has a negative alpha of -1.89, which measures performance on a risk-adjusted basis.
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, MEMTX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.76% compared to the category average of 0.82%. So, MEMTX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.
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.
Bottom Line
Overall, BlackRock Strategic Municipals Opportunities A ( MEMTX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, BlackRock Strategic Municipals Opportunities A ( MEMTX ) looks like a somewhat weak choice for investors right now.
For additional information on this product, or to compare it to other mutual funds in the Muni - Bonds, make sure to go to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds 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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Is MEMTX a Strong Bond Fund Right Now?
There are plenty of choices in the Muni - Bonds category, but where should you start your research? Well, one fund that may not be worth investigating is BlackRock Strategic Municipals Opportunities A (MEMTX - Free Report) . MEMTX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 5 (Strong Sell), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
Zacks categorizes MEMTX as Muni - Bonds, which is a segment packed with options. Muni - Bonds funds invest in debt securities issued by states or local municipalities. These are generally used to finance construction of infrastructure, pay for schools, or other government functions. Some are backed by taxes (revenue bonds), while others are " general obligation " and may not be backed by a defined source. Investors usually appreciate the tax benefits that come with many municipal bonds, which are especially impressive for those in high tax brackets.
History of Fund/Manager
MEMTX is a part of the BlackRock family of funds, a company based out of New York, NY. BlackRock Strategic Municipals Opportunities A made its debut in October of 2006, and since then, MEMTX has accumulated about $1.82 billion in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund is currently managed by a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. MEMTX has a 5-year annualized total return of 1.53% 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 0.5%, which places it in the bottom 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 MEMTX over the past three years is 6.08% compared to the category average of 10.79%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 5.33% compared to the category average of 9.94%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
This fund has a beta of 0.44, meaning that it is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, MEMTX has a negative alpha of -1.89, which measures performance on a risk-adjusted basis.
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, MEMTX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.76% compared to the category average of 0.82%. So, MEMTX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.
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.
Bottom Line
Overall, BlackRock Strategic Municipals Opportunities A ( MEMTX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, BlackRock Strategic Municipals Opportunities A ( MEMTX ) looks like a somewhat weak choice for investors right now.
For additional information on this product, or to compare it to other mutual funds in the Muni - Bonds, make sure to go to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds 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.