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Having trouble finding a Mutual Fund Bond fund? Well, Fidelity Corporate Bond Fund (FCBFX - Free Report) would not be a good potential starting point right now. FCBFX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 4 (Sell), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
History of Fund/Manager
FCBFX is a part of the Fidelity family of funds, a company based out of Boston, MA. Since Fidelity Corporate Bond Fund made its debut in May of 2010, FCBFX has garnered more than $890.13 million in assets. The fund's current manager is a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. FCBFX has a 5-year annualized total return of 1.95% and is in the middle third among its category peers. If you're interested in shorter time frames, do not dismiss looking at the fund's 3-year annualized total return of -2.08%, 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. FCBFX's standard deviation over the past three years is 8.38% compared to the category average of 14.21%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 8.2% compared to the category average of 14%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
With a beta of 1.14, this fund is more volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, FCBFX has a positive alpha of 1.01, 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, FCBFX has 27% in medium quality bonds, with ratings of 'A' to 'BBB'. The fund's junk bond component-bonds rated 'BB' or below-is at 59.91%, giving FCBFX an average quality of BBB. This means that it focuses on medium 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, FCBFX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.45% compared to the category average of 0.75%. From a cost perspective, FCBFX is actually cheaper than its peers.
This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $0, while there is no minimum for each subsequent investment.
Bottom Line
Overall, Fidelity Corporate Bond Fund ( FCBFX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, better downside risk, and lower fees, Fidelity Corporate Bond Fund ( FCBFX ) looks like a somewhat weak choice for investors right now.
Want even more information about FCBFX? 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 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.
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Is FCBFX a Strong Bond Fund Right Now?
Having trouble finding a Mutual Fund Bond fund? Well, Fidelity Corporate Bond Fund (FCBFX - Free Report) would not be a good potential starting point right now. FCBFX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 4 (Sell), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
History of Fund/Manager
FCBFX is a part of the Fidelity family of funds, a company based out of Boston, MA. Since Fidelity Corporate Bond Fund made its debut in May of 2010, FCBFX has garnered more than $890.13 million in assets. The fund's current manager is a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. FCBFX has a 5-year annualized total return of 1.95% and is in the middle third among its category peers. If you're interested in shorter time frames, do not dismiss looking at the fund's 3-year annualized total return of -2.08%, 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. FCBFX's standard deviation over the past three years is 8.38% compared to the category average of 14.21%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 8.2% compared to the category average of 14%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
With a beta of 1.14, this fund is more volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, FCBFX has a positive alpha of 1.01, 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, FCBFX has 27% in medium quality bonds, with ratings of 'A' to 'BBB'. The fund's junk bond component-bonds rated 'BB' or below-is at 59.91%, giving FCBFX an average quality of BBB. This means that it focuses on medium 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, FCBFX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.45% compared to the category average of 0.75%. From a cost perspective, FCBFX is actually cheaper than its peers.
This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $0, while there is no minimum for each subsequent investment.
Bottom Line
Overall, Fidelity Corporate Bond Fund ( FCBFX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, better downside risk, and lower fees, Fidelity Corporate Bond Fund ( FCBFX ) looks like a somewhat weak choice for investors right now.
Want even more information about FCBFX? 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 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.