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Is LDLFX a Strong Bond Fund Right Now?

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There are plenty of choices in the Mutual Fund Bond category, but where should you start your research? Well, one fund that might be worth investigating is Lord Abbett Short Duration Income F (LDLFX - Free Report) . LDLFX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

History of Fund/Manager

Lord Abbett is based in Jersey City, NJ, and is the manager of LDLFX. Since Lord Abbett Short Duration Income F made its debut in September of 2007, LDLFX has garnered more than $26.88 billion in assets. The fund is currently managed by a team of investment professionals.

Performance

Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 2.5%, and is in the top 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 3.28%, 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. The standard deviation of LDLFX over the past three years is 4.3% compared to the category average of 13.9%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 3.36% compared to the category average of 11.5%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

With a beta of 0.41, this fund is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, LDLFX has a positive alpha of 0.74, which measures performance on a risk-adjusted basis.

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, LDLFX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.48% compared to the category average of 0.65%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, LDLFX is actually cheaper than its peers.

Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $0; each subsequent investment has no minimum amount.

Bottom Line

Overall, Lord Abbett Short Duration Income F ( LDLFX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, better downside risk, and lower fees, Lord Abbett Short Duration Income F ( LDLFX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.

Want even more information about LDLFX? 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. If you are more of a stock investor, make sure to also check out our Zacks Rank, and our full suite of tools we have available for novice and professional investors alike.


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