If you have been looking for Government - Bonds: Misc funds, a place to start could be Schwab Treasury Inflation Protected Security (SWRSX Quick QuoteSWRSX - Free Report) . SWRSX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

We classify SWRSX in the Government - Bonds: Misc category, an area rife with potential choices. Government - Bonds: Misc 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 stretches across the curve, so the yields and interest rate sensitivity will vary, though a mixed approach generally results in a medium yield and risk profile.

History of Fund/Manager

Schwab Funds is responsible for SWRSX, and the company is based out of San Francisco, CA. The Schwab Treasury Inflation Protected Security made its debut in March of 2006 and SWRSX has managed to accumulate roughly $1.43 billion in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund's current manager, Matthew Hastings, has been in charge of the fund since March of 2006.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 4.57%, and is in the bottom third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 5.75%, 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. Compared to the category average of 15.74%, the standard deviation of SWRSX over the past three years is 3.84%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 3.59% compared to the category average of 13.63%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

This fund has a beta of 0.94, meaning that it is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, SWRSX has a positive alpha of 0.29, 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 0.88%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, SWRSX is actually cheaper than its peers.

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

Overall, Schwab Treasury Inflation Protected Security ( SWRSX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, better downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a great potential choice for investors right now.

Don't stop here for your research on Government - Bonds: Misc funds. We also have plenty more on our site in order to help you find the best possible fund for your portfolio. Make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for more information about the world of funds, and feel free to compare SWRSX to its peers as well for additional information. Zacks provides a full suite of tools to help you analyze your portfolio - both funds and stocks - in the most efficient way possible.