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Is TRBUX a Strong Bond Fund Right Now?

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Having trouble finding a Mutual Fund Bond fund? T. Rowe Price Ultra Short-Term Bond (TRBUX - Free Report) is a potential starting point. TRBUX 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

T. Rowe Price is responsible for TRBUX, and the company is based out of Baltimore, MD. Since T. Rowe Price Ultra Short-Term Bond made its debut in December of 2012, TRBUX has garnered more than $2.41 billion in assets. The fund's current manager, Alexander Obaza, has been in charge of the fund since March of 2020.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. TRBUX has a 5-year annualized total return of 1.39% 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 0.47%, 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. TRBUX's standard deviation over the past three years is 2.01% compared to the category average of 9.23%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 1.58% compared to the category average of 8.03%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

This fund has a beta of 0.07, meaning that it is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, TRBUX has a positive alpha of 0.43, 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, TRBUX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.33% compared to the category average of 0.68%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, TRBUX is actually cheaper than its peers.

This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $2,500, and each subsequent investment should be at least $100.

Bottom Line

Overall, T. Rowe Price Ultra Short-Term Bond ( TRBUX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, better downside risk, and lower fees, T. Rowe Price Ultra Short-Term Bond ( TRBUX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.

Don't stop here for your research on Mutual Fund Bond funds. We also have plenty more on our site in order to help you find the best possible fund for your portfolio. Make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for more information about the world of funds, and feel free to compare TRBUX to its peers as well 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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