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Is VSLAX a Strong Bond Fund Right Now?

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Investors in search of a Mutual Fund Bond fund might want to consider looking at Invesco Senior Loan A (VSLAX - Free Report) . The fund does not have a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank, though we have been able to explore other metrics like performance, volatility, and cost.

History of Fund/Manager

VSLAX is a part of the Invesco family of funds, a company based out of Kansas City, MO. Invesco Senior Loan A debuted in February of 2005. Since then, VSLAX has accumulated assets of about $59.73 million, according to the most recently available information. 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 4.09%, and it sits 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 3.19%, 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. Over the past three years, VSLAX's standard deviation comes in at 9.95%, compared to the category average of 15.08%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 7.8% compared to the category average of 12.47%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

VSLAX carries a beta of 0.12, 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 3.19, which measures performance on a risk-adjusted basis.

Expenses

Costs are increasingly important for mutual fund investing, and particularly as competition heats up in this market. And all things being equal, a lower cost product will outperform its otherwise identical counterpart, so taking a closer look at these metrics is key for investors. In terms of fees, VSLAX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 2.05% compared to the category average of 1%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, VSLAX is actually more expensive than its peers.

While the minimum initial investment for the product is $1,000, investors should also note that each subsequent investment needs to be at least $50.

Bottom Line

Want even more information about VSLAX? 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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