If investors are looking at the Diversified Bonds fund category, make sure to pass over The Osterweis Strategic Income Fund (OSTIX Quick QuoteOSTIX - Free Report) . OSTIX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 4 (Sell), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

The world of Diversified Bonds funds is an area filled with options, such as OSTIX. Investors looking for exposure to a variety of fixed income types that stretch across issuers, maturities, and credit levels will find a good fit with Diversified Bonds funds. Typically, these funds have a solid amount of exposure to government debt, as well as modest holdings in the corporate bond market.

History of Fund/Manager

Osterweis is based in San Francisco, CA, and is the manager of OSTIX. The Osterweis Strategic Income Fund debuted in August of 2002. Since then, OSTIX has accumulated assets of about $4.91 billion, according to the most recently available information. A team of investment professionals is the fund's current manager.

Performance

Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 6.06%, and it sits in the bottom third among its category peers. But if you are looking for a shorter time frame, it is also worth looking at its 3-year annualized total return of 4.5%, 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 9.35%, the standard deviation of OSTIX over the past three years is 5.77%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 4.94% compared to the category average of 7.74%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

OSTIX carries a beta of 0.23, 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 4.43, 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, OSTIX 's junk bond component-bonds rated 'BB' or below-is at 88.27%. This means that the fund has an average quality of BBB, and focuses on medium quality securities.

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, OSTIX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.88% compared to the category average of 0.88%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, OSTIX is actually on par with its peers.

While the minimum initial investment for the product is $5,000, investors should also note that each subsequent investment needs to be at least $100.

Bottom Line

Overall, The Osterweis Strategic Income Fund ( OSTIX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, average downside risk, and on par fees, this fund looks like a somewhat weak choice for investors right now.

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