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Is SWRSX a Strong Bond Fund Right Now?

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Investors in search of a Government - Bonds: Misc fund might want to consider looking at Schwab Treasury Inflation Protected Security (SWRSX - Free Report) . The fund does not have a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank, though we have been able to explore other metrics like performance, volatility, and cost.

Objective

We note that SWRSX is a Government - Bonds: Misc option, and this area is loaded with many different choices. Often seen as risk-free assets and described as extremely low-risk from a default perspective, Government - Bonds: Misc funds hold securities issued by the United States' federal government. This category stretches across the curve, meaning the yields and interest rate sensitivity will vary, but a mixed approach can typically result in a medium yield and risk profile.

History of Fund/Manager

Schwab Funds is based in San Francisco, CA, and is the manager of SWRSX. Since Schwab Treasury Inflation Protected Security made its debut in March of 2006, SWRSX has garnered more than $1.12 billion in assets. The fund is currently managed by Matthew Hastings who has been in charge of the fund since March of 2006.

Performance

Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 3.21%, and is in the middle third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 4.25%, which places it in the middle 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 SWRSX over the past three years is 3.69% compared to the category average of 14.02%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 3.48% compared to the category average of 12.84%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

SWRSX carries a beta of 1, meaning that the fund is volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. With this in mind, it has a negative alpha of -0.65, which measures performance on a risk-adjusted basis.

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, SWRSX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.05% compared to the category average of 0.89%. SWRSX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.

While the minimum initial investment for the product is $0, investors should also note that there is no minimum for each subsequent investment.

Bottom Line

Your research on the Government - Bonds: Misc 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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