Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Is SAMBX a Strong Bond Fund Right Now?

Read MoreHide Full Article

If you've been stuck searching for Mutual Fund Bond funds, consider Virtus Seix Floating Rate High Income I (SAMBX - Free Report) as a possibility. SAMBX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

History of Fund/Manager

SAMBX finds itself in the Virtus Funds family, based out of Hartford, CT. The Virtus Seix Floating Rate High Income I made its debut in March of 2006 and SAMBX has managed to accumulate roughly $1.34 billion in assets, as of 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 carries a 5-year annualized total return of 3.13%, 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 5.46%, which places it in the top third during this time-frame.

It is important to note that the product's returns may not reflect all its expenses. Any fees not reflected would lower the returns. Total returns do not reflect the fund's [%] sale charge. If sales charges were included, total returns would have been lower.

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 SAMBX over the past three years is 3.85% compared to the category average of 11.92%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 7.01% compared to the category average of 13.22%. 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, SAMBX has a positive alpha of 1.86, which measures performance on a risk-adjusted basis.

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, SAMBX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.65% compared to the category average of 0.98%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, SAMBX is actually cheaper than its peers.

This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $100,000, while there is no minimum for each subsequent investment.

Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.

Bottom Line

Overall, Virtus Seix Floating Rate High Income I ( SAMBX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, better downside risk, and lower fees, Virtus Seix Floating Rate High Income I ( SAMBX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.

This could just be the start of your research on SAMBXin 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 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.


See More Zacks Research for These Tickers


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


Virtus Seix Float Rate High Inc I (SAMBX) - free report >>

Published in