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Is WFCMX a Strong Bond Fund Right Now?

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Having trouble finding a Government Mortgage - Intermediate fund? Wells Fargo Coreblder Shares Series M (WFCMX - Free Report) is a potential starting point. WFCMX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

The world of Government Mortgage - Intermediate funds is an area filled with choices, such as WFCMX. A mortgage-backed security (MBS) is a type of asset-backed security that packages mortgages together and then sells off the pooled securities. Government Mortgage - Intermediate funds focus on this market; this fund category presents a medium risk and yield profile, and concentrates on MBS with at least three years to maturity but less than 10.

History of Fund/Manager

Wells Fargo is responsible for WFCMX, and the company is based out of San Francisco, CA. Since Wells Fargo Coreblder Shares Series M made its debut in February of 2009, WFCMX has garnered more than $881.60 million in assets. The fund is currently managed by a team of investment professionals.

Performance

Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 4.02%, and is in the top 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 5.17%, which places it in the top 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 3.98%, the standard deviation of WFCMX over the past three years is 4.85%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 4.56% compared to the category average of 3.8%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

This fund has a beta of 0.73, meaning that it is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, WFCMX has a positive alpha of 0.82, 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, WFCMX has 25.21% in high quality bonds rated at least 'AA' or higher, while 59.36% are of medium quality, with ratings of 'A' to 'BBB'. The fund has an average quality of A, and focuses on high 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, WFCMX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0% compared to the category average of 0.80%. So, WFCMX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.

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, Wells Fargo Coreblder Shares Series M ( WFCMX ) 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.

Want even more information about WFCMX? Then go over to Zacks.com and check out our mutual fund comparison tool, and all of the other great features that we have to help you with your mutual fund analysis for additional information. And don't forget, Zacks has all of your needs covered on the equity side too! Make sure to check out Zacks.com for more information on our screening capabilities, Rank, and all our articles as well.


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