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If you have been looking for Mutual Fund Bond funds, it would not be wise to start your search with Blackrock Credit Strategies Income A (BMSAX - Free Report) . BMSAX holds 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
BlackRock is based in New York, NY, and is the manager of BMSAX. Blackrock Credit Strategies Income A made its debut in March of 2010, and since then, BMSAX has accumulated about $151.09 million in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund is currently managed by a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 0.99%, and it sits in the bottom 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 -1.46%, which places it in the bottom 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 BMSAX over the past three years is 5.51% compared to the category average of 12.16%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 7.3% compared to the category average of 13.33%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
With a beta of 0.23, this fund is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, BMSAX has a positive alpha of 0.63, 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, BMSAX has 40.84% in high quality bonds rated at least 'AA' or higher, while 31.53% are of medium quality, with ratings of 'A' to 'BBB'. The fund's junk bond component-bonds rated 'BB' or below-is at 25%, giving BMSAX an average quality of A. This means that it 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, BMSAX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.87% compared to the category average of 0.75%. So, BMSAX is actually more expensive than its peers from a cost perspective.
Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $1,000 and that each subsequent investment needs to be at $50
Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Bottom Line
Overall, Blackrock Credit Strategies Income A ( BMSAX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, better downside risk, and higher fees, Blackrock Credit Strategies Income A ( BMSAX ) looks like a somewhat weak 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. Zacks provides a full suite of tools to help you analyze your portfolio - both funds and stocks - in the most efficient way possible.
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Is BMSAX a Strong Bond Fund Right Now?
If you have been looking for Mutual Fund Bond funds, it would not be wise to start your search with Blackrock Credit Strategies Income A (BMSAX - Free Report) . BMSAX holds 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
BlackRock is based in New York, NY, and is the manager of BMSAX. Blackrock Credit Strategies Income A made its debut in March of 2010, and since then, BMSAX has accumulated about $151.09 million in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund is currently managed by a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 0.99%, and it sits in the bottom 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 -1.46%, which places it in the bottom 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 BMSAX over the past three years is 5.51% compared to the category average of 12.16%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 7.3% compared to the category average of 13.33%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
With a beta of 0.23, this fund is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, BMSAX has a positive alpha of 0.63, 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, BMSAX has 40.84% in high quality bonds rated at least 'AA' or higher, while 31.53% are of medium quality, with ratings of 'A' to 'BBB'. The fund's junk bond component-bonds rated 'BB' or below-is at 25%, giving BMSAX an average quality of A. This means that it 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, BMSAX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.87% compared to the category average of 0.75%. So, BMSAX is actually more expensive than its peers from a cost perspective.
Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $1,000 and that each subsequent investment needs to be at $50
Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Bottom Line
Overall, Blackrock Credit Strategies Income A ( BMSAX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, better downside risk, and higher fees, Blackrock Credit Strategies Income A ( BMSAX ) looks like a somewhat weak 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. Zacks provides a full suite of tools to help you analyze your portfolio - both funds and stocks - in the most efficient way possible.