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Is OSTIX a Strong Bond Fund Right Now?

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If you have been looking for Mutual Fund Bond fund category, a potential starting could be The Osterweis Strategic Income Fund (OSTIX - Free Report) . OSTIX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

History of Fund/Manager

Osterweis is responsible for OSTIX, and the company is based out of San Francisco, CA. Since The Osterweis Strategic Income Fund made its debut in August of 2002, OSTIX has garnered more than $5.68 billion in assets. The fund's current manager is a team of investment professionals.

Performance

Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 4.99%, and it sits in the middle third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 6.61%, 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 9.29%, the standard deviation of OSTIX over the past three years is 5.6%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 4.56% compared to the category average of 7.46%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

This fund has a beta of 0.24, meaning that it is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, OSTIX has a positive alpha of 3.44, 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, OSTIX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.83% compared to the category average of 0.85%. OSTIX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.

Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $5,000; each subsequent investment needs to be at least $100.

Bottom Line

Overall, The Osterweis Strategic Income Fund ( OSTIX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, The Osterweis Strategic Income Fund ( OSTIX ) looks like a somewhat average 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 OSTIX to its peers as well for additional information. Want to learn even more? We have a full suite of tools on stocks that you can use to find the best choices for your portfolio too, no matter what kind of investor you are.


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