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Is THOPX a Strong Bond Fund Right Now?

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If you've been stuck searching for Mutual Fund Bond funds, consider Thompson Bond Fund (THOPX - Free Report) as a possibility. THOPX holds 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

Thompson is based in Madison, WI, and is the manager of THOPX. Thompson Bond Fund debuted in February of 1992. Since then, THOPX has accumulated assets of about $2.36 billion, according to the most recently available information. 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. THOPX has a 5-year annualized total return of 2.64% 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 2.34%, which places it in the top 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 THOPX over the past three years is 6.47% compared to the category average of 2.94%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 5.02% compared to the category average of 2.44%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

THOPX carries a beta of 0.21, 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 1.27, which measures performance on a risk-adjusted basis.

Ratings

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, THOPX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.71% compared to the category average of 0.71%. So, THOPX is actually on par with its peers from a cost perspective.

Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $250; each subsequent investment needs to be at least $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.

For additional information on this product, or to compare it to other mutual funds in the Mutual Fund Bond, make sure to go to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds 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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