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Any investors hoping to find a Mutual Fund Bond fund could think about starting with BlackRock CA Municipals Opportunities A1 (MDCMX - Free Report) . MDCMX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (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 $79.46 million, according to the most recently available information. A team of investment professionals is the fund's current manager.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 0.34%, 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 -2.08%, which places it in the middle 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 14.14%, the standard deviation of MDCMX over the past three years is 7.03%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 5.6% compared to the category average of 12.39%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
This fund has a beta of 0.59, 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 0.03, 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 72.92% 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
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, MDCMX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.53% compared to the category average of 0.79%. So, MDCMX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.
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. 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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Is MDCMX a Strong Bond Fund Right Now?
Any investors hoping to find a Mutual Fund Bond fund could think about starting with BlackRock CA Municipals Opportunities A1 (MDCMX - Free Report) . MDCMX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (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 $79.46 million, according to the most recently available information. A team of investment professionals is the fund's current manager.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 0.34%, 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 -2.08%, which places it in the middle 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 14.14%, the standard deviation of MDCMX over the past three years is 7.03%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 5.6% compared to the category average of 12.39%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
This fund has a beta of 0.59, 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 0.03, 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 72.92% 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
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, MDCMX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.53% compared to the category average of 0.79%. So, MDCMX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.
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. 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.