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Is LDLAX a Strong Bond Fund Right Now?

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Having trouble finding a Mutual Fund Bond fund? Lord Abbett Short Duration Income C (LDLAX - Free Report) is a potential starting point. LDLAX 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

LDLAX finds itself in the Lord Abbett family, based out of Jersey City, NJ. The Lord Abbett Short Duration Income C made its debut in July of 1996 and LDLAX has managed to accumulate roughly $3.45 billion in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund's current manager is a team of investment professionals.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. LDLAX has a 5-year annualized total return of 1.82% and it sits 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 2.61%, 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 13.9%, the standard deviation of LDLAX over the past three years is 4.26%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 3.35% compared to the category average of 11.5%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

This fund has a beta of 0.4, meaning that it is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, LDLAX has a positive alpha of 0.06, which measures performance on a risk-adjusted basis.

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, LDLAX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.24% compared to the category average of 0.65%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, LDLAX is actually more expensive than its peers.

This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $1,500, while there is no minimum for each subsequent investment.

Bottom Line

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

Don't stop here for your research on Mutual Fund Bond funds. We also have plenty more on our site in order to help you find the best possible fund for your portfolio. Make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for more information about the world of funds, and feel free to compare LDLAX to its peers 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.


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