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If you've been stuck searching for Mutual Fund Bond funds, consider Nuveen Intermediate Duration Municipals I (NUVBX - Free Report) as a possibility. NUVBX 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
NUVBX finds itself in the Nuveen family, based out of Chicago, IL. Since Nuveen Intermediate Duration Municipals I made its debut in November of 1976, NUVBX has garnered more than $9.59 billion in assets. The fund's current manager, Paul L. Brennan, has been in charge of the fund since December of 2007.
Performance
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. NUVBX has a 5-year annualized total return of 1.87% 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 0.59%, 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 NUVBX over the past three years is 4.78% compared to the category average of 11.32%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 3.93% compared to the category average of 9.96%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
NUVBX carries a beta of 0.65, 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 0.14, 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, NUVBX has 44.99% in high quality bonds rated at least 'AA' or higher, while 42.78% are of medium quality, with ratings of 'A' to 'BBB'. The fund has an average quality of A, and focuses on high quality securities.
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, NUVBX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.43% compared to the category average of 0.79%. NUVBX 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 $100,000; each subsequent investment has no minimum amount.
Bottom Line
Overall, Nuveen Intermediate Duration Municipals I ( NUVBX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, better downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
Want even more information about NUVBX? 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. If you want to check out our stock reports as well, make sure to go to Zacks.com to see all of the great tools we have to offer, including our time-tested Zacks Rank.
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Is NUVBX a Strong Bond Fund Right Now?
If you've been stuck searching for Mutual Fund Bond funds, consider Nuveen Intermediate Duration Municipals I (NUVBX - Free Report) as a possibility. NUVBX 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
NUVBX finds itself in the Nuveen family, based out of Chicago, IL. Since Nuveen Intermediate Duration Municipals I made its debut in November of 1976, NUVBX has garnered more than $9.59 billion in assets. The fund's current manager, Paul L. Brennan, has been in charge of the fund since December of 2007.
Performance
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. NUVBX has a 5-year annualized total return of 1.87% 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 0.59%, 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 NUVBX over the past three years is 4.78% compared to the category average of 11.32%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 3.93% compared to the category average of 9.96%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
NUVBX carries a beta of 0.65, 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 0.14, 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, NUVBX has 44.99% in high quality bonds rated at least 'AA' or higher, while 42.78% are of medium quality, with ratings of 'A' to 'BBB'. The fund has an average quality of A, and focuses on high quality securities.
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, NUVBX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.43% compared to the category average of 0.79%. NUVBX 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 $100,000; each subsequent investment has no minimum amount.
Bottom Line
Overall, Nuveen Intermediate Duration Municipals I ( NUVBX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, better downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
Want even more information about NUVBX? 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. If you want to check out our stock reports as well, make sure to go to Zacks.com to see all of the great tools we have to offer, including our time-tested Zacks Rank.