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Is FGMNX a Strong Bond Fund Right Now?

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Government Mortgage - Intermediate fund seekers should consider taking a look at Fidelity GNMA Fund (FGMNX - Free Report) . FGMNX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

FGMNX is one of many Government Mortgage - Intermediate funds to choose from. Government Mortgage - Intermediate funds focus on the mortgage-backed securities (MBS) market. This market takes mortgages, packages them together, and sells off the pooled securities to investors. This particular category focuses on MBS that usually have at least three years to maturity, but less than 10, giving a medium risk and yield profile to funds here.

History of Fund/Manager

Fidelity is based in Boston, MA, and is the manager of FGMNX. Fidelity GNMA Fund made its debut in November of 1985, and since then, FGMNX has accumulated about $4.31 billion in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund's current manager, Franco Castagliuolo, has been in charge of the fund since December of 2009.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 2.62%, and it sits 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 3.29%, 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. FGMNX's standard deviation over the past three years is 2.01% compared to the category average of 2.81%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 1.85% compared to the category average of 2.69%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

With a beta of 0.42, this fund is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, FGMNX has a positive alpha of 0.1, 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, FGMNX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.45% compared to the category average of 0.82%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, FGMNX is actually cheaper than its peers.

Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $0; each subsequent investment has no minimum amount.

Bottom Line

Overall, Fidelity GNMA Fund ( FGMNX ) 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.

For additional information on the Government Mortgage - Intermediate 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 FGMNX too 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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