Any investors hoping to find a High Yield - Bonds fund could think about starting with AB High Income Fund C (AGDCX Quick QuoteAGDCX - Free Report) . AGDCX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

AGDCX is classified in the High Yield - Bonds segment by Zacks, an area full of investment possibilities. High Yield - Bonds funds come in below investment grade, and are referred to as " junk " bonds for this reason. Compared to their investment grade peers, these funds are at a higher default risk, but typically pay out higher yields while posing similar interest rate risks.

History of Fund/Manager

AllianceBernstein is based in New York, NY, and is the manager of AGDCX. Since AB High Income Fund C made its debut in February of 1994, AGDCX has garnered more than $466.88 million in assets. The fund is currently managed by a team of investment professionals.

Performance

Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. AGDCX has a 5-year annualized total return of 4.28% and is in the bottom 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 1.6%, 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. Compared to the category average of 14.12%, the standard deviation of AGDCX over the past three years is 12.59%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 10.27% compared to the category average of 11.97%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

AGDCX carries a beta of 0.7, meaning that the fund is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. With this in mind, it has a positive alpha of 1.37, which measures performance on a risk-adjusted basis.

Ratings

Investors should also consider a bond's rating, which is a grade ( 'AAA' to 'D' ) given to a bond that indicates its credit quality. With this letter scale in mind, AGDCX has 22.34% in medium quality bonds, with ratings of 'A' to 'BBB'. The fund's junk bond component-bonds rated 'BB' or below-is at 57.87%, giving AGDCX an average quality of BBB. This means that it focuses on medium quality securities.

Expenses

As competition heats up in the mutual fund market, costs become increasingly important. Compared to its otherwise identical counterpart, a low-cost product will be an outperformer, all other things being equal. Thus, taking a closer look at cost-related metrics is vital for investors. In terms of fees, AGDCX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.62% compared to the category average of 1.01%. From a cost perspective, AGDCX is actually more expensive than its peers.

While the minimum initial investment for the product is $2,500, investors should also note that each subsequent investment needs to be at least $50.

Bottom Line

Overall, AB High Income Fund C ( AGDCX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, average downside risk, and higher fees, AB High Income Fund C ( AGDCX ) looks like a somewhat average choice for investors right now.

Your research on the High Yield - Bonds 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.