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If investors are looking at the Mutual Fund Bond fund category, BlackRock CA Municipals Opportunities A1 (MDCMX - Free Report) could be a potential option. MDCMX possesses 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
BlackRock is based in New York, NY, and is the manager of MDCMX. BlackRock CA Municipals Opportunities A1 debuted in October of 1994. Since then, MDCMX has accumulated assets of about $87.96 million, according to the most recently available information. The fund's current manager is a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 1.91%, and is 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 -0.05%, 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 MDCMX over the past three years is 6.12% compared to the category average of 12.54%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 4.93% compared to the category average of 11.08%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
This fund has a beta of 0.52, meaning that it is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, MDCMX has a positive alpha of 0.11, which measures performance on a risk-adjusted basis.
Ratings
Investors should also consider a bond's rating, which is a grade ( 'AAA' to 'D' ) given to a bond that indicates its credit quality. With this letter scale in mind, MDCMX has 67.43% in high quality bonds rated at least 'AA' or higher. The fund has an average quality of A, and focuses on high quality securities.
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, MDCMX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.53% compared to the category average of 0.79%. MDCMX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.
While the minimum initial investment for the product is $0, investors should also note that there is no minimum for each subsequent investment.
Bottom Line
Overall, BlackRock CA Municipals Opportunities A1 ( MDCMX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, better downside risk, and lower fees, BlackRock CA Municipals Opportunities A1 ( MDCMX ) 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. For analysis of the rest of your portfolio, make sure to visit Zacks.com for our full suite of tools which will help you investigate all of your stocks and funds in one place.
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Is MDCMX a Strong Bond Fund Right Now?
If investors are looking at the Mutual Fund Bond fund category, BlackRock CA Municipals Opportunities A1 (MDCMX - Free Report) could be a potential option. MDCMX possesses 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
BlackRock is based in New York, NY, and is the manager of MDCMX. BlackRock CA Municipals Opportunities A1 debuted in October of 1994. Since then, MDCMX has accumulated assets of about $87.96 million, according to the most recently available information. The fund's current manager is a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 1.91%, and is 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 -0.05%, 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 MDCMX over the past three years is 6.12% compared to the category average of 12.54%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 4.93% compared to the category average of 11.08%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
This fund has a beta of 0.52, meaning that it is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, MDCMX has a positive alpha of 0.11, which measures performance on a risk-adjusted basis.
Ratings
Investors should also consider a bond's rating, which is a grade ( 'AAA' to 'D' ) given to a bond that indicates its credit quality. With this letter scale in mind, MDCMX has 67.43% in high quality bonds rated at least 'AA' or higher. The fund has an average quality of A, and focuses on high quality securities.
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, MDCMX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.53% compared to the category average of 0.79%. MDCMX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.
While the minimum initial investment for the product is $0, investors should also note that there is no minimum for each subsequent investment.
Bottom Line
Overall, BlackRock CA Municipals Opportunities A1 ( MDCMX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, better downside risk, and lower fees, BlackRock CA Municipals Opportunities A1 ( MDCMX ) 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. For analysis of the rest of your portfolio, make sure to visit Zacks.com for our full suite of tools which will help you investigate all of your stocks and funds in one place.