Investment Grade Bond - Short fund seekers should consider taking a look at Thompson Bond Fund (THOPX Quick QuoteTHOPX - Free Report) . THOPX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

THOPX is part of the Investment Grade Bond - Short category, a segment that boasts an array of other possible selections. Investment Grade Bond - Short funds target the short end of the curve by focusing on bonds that mature in less than two years. Fixed income instruments with this maturity level typically have low duration risk and pay out small yields, at least in comparison to their longer-dated peers. Also, these funds tend to be safer because of their focus on investment grade, but yields will be lower than could be found in the junk bond category.

History of Fund/Manager

Thompson is based in Madison, WI, and is the manager of THOPX. Thompson Bond Fund made its debut in February of 1992, and since then, THOPX has accumulated about $2.23 billion in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund is currently managed by Jason Stephens who has been in charge of the fund since February of 2009.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 5.23%, 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 2.48%, 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 2.94%, the standard deviation of THOPX over the past three years is 6.45%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 5.41% compared to the category average of 2.46%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

This fund has a beta of 0.29, meaning that it is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, THOPX has a positive alpha of 3.4, 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, THOPX has 51.75% in high quality bonds rated at least 'AA' or higher, while 42.66% are of medium quality, with ratings of 'A' to 'BBB'. The fund has an average quality of AA, 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, THOPX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.72% compared to the category average of 0.72%. From a cost perspective, THOPX is actually on par with its peers.

Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $250 and that each subsequent investment needs to be at $50.

Bottom Line

Overall, Thompson Bond Fund ( THOPX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and on par fees, Thompson Bond Fund ( THOPX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.

This could just be the start of your research on THOPXin the Investment Grade Bond - Short category. Consider going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for additional information about this fund, and all the others that we rank 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.