Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Is VSLAX a Strong Bond Fund Right Now?

Read MoreHide Full Article

Looking for a Mutual Fund Bond fund? You may want to consider Invesco Senior Loan A (VSLAX - Free Report) as a possible option. The fund does not have a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank, though we have been able to explore other metrics like performance, volatility, and cost.

History of Fund/Manager

Invesco is based in Kansas City, MO, and is the manager of VSLAX. Invesco Senior Loan A made its debut in February of 2005, and since then, VSLAX has accumulated about $58.76 million in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. A team of investment professionals is the fund's current manager.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. VSLAX has a 5-year annualized total return of 3.26% and it sits in the bottom 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 2.77%, 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. Over the past three years, VSLAX's standard deviation comes in at 9.5%, compared to the category average of 14.85%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 7.77% compared to the category average of 13.14%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

This fund has a beta of -0.11, meaning that it is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, VSLAX has a positive alpha of 2.49, which measures performance on a risk-adjusted basis.

Expenses

As competition heats up in the mutual fund market, costs become increasingly important. Compared to its otherwise identical counterpart, a low-cost product will be an outperformer, all other things being equal. Thus, taking a closer look at cost-related metrics is vital for investors. In terms of fees, VSLAX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.76% compared to the category average of 0.98%. So, VSLAX is actually more expensive than its peers from a cost perspective.

While the minimum initial investment for the product is $1,000, investors should also note that each subsequent investment needs to be at least $50.

Bottom Line

This could just be the start of your research on VSLAXin the Mutual Fund Bond category. Consider going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for additional information about this fund, and all the others that we rank as well for additional information. If you are more of a stock investor, make sure to also check out our Zacks Rank, and our full suite of tools we have available for novice and professional investors alike.


See More Zacks Research for These Tickers


Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:


Invesco Senior Loan A (VSLAX) - free report >>

Published in