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If you've been stuck searching for Mutual Fund Bond funds, consider BlackRock CA Municipals Opportunities A1 (MDCMX - Free Report) as a possibility. MDCMX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on various 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. The BlackRock CA Municipals Opportunities A1 made its debut in October of 1994 and MDCMX has managed to accumulate roughly $74.92 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. 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. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 0.44%, and is in the middle 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 -1.12%, 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. MDCMX's standard deviation over the past three years is 6.1% compared to the category average of 12.41%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 6.13% compared to the category average of 13.18%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
With a beta of 0.7, this fund is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, MDCMX has a negative alpha of -0.57, 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 75.86% in high quality bonds rated at least 'AA' or higher. The fund has an average quality of AA, and focuses on high quality securities.
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, MDCMX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.53% compared to the category average of 0.78%. From a cost perspective, MDCMX is actually cheaper than its peers.
This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $0, 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, BlackRock CA Municipals Opportunities A1 ( MDCMX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, better downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a great 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 MDCMX to its peers as well for additional information. For analysis of the rest of your portfolio, make sure to visit Zacks.com for our full suite of tools which will help you investigate all of your stocks and funds in one place.
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Is MDCMX a Strong Bond Fund Right Now?
If you've been stuck searching for Mutual Fund Bond funds, consider BlackRock CA Municipals Opportunities A1 (MDCMX - Free Report) as a possibility. MDCMX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on various 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. The BlackRock CA Municipals Opportunities A1 made its debut in October of 1994 and MDCMX has managed to accumulate roughly $74.92 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. 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. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 0.44%, and is in the middle 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 -1.12%, 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. MDCMX's standard deviation over the past three years is 6.1% compared to the category average of 12.41%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 6.13% compared to the category average of 13.18%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
With a beta of 0.7, this fund is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, MDCMX has a negative alpha of -0.57, 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 75.86% in high quality bonds rated at least 'AA' or higher. The fund has an average quality of AA, and focuses on high quality securities.
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, MDCMX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.53% compared to the category average of 0.78%. From a cost perspective, MDCMX is actually cheaper than its peers.
This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $0, 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, BlackRock CA Municipals Opportunities A1 ( MDCMX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, better downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a great 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 MDCMX to its peers as well for additional information. For analysis of the rest of your portfolio, make sure to visit Zacks.com for our full suite of tools which will help you investigate all of your stocks and funds in one place.