If investors are looking at the Mutual Fund Bond fund category, Wells Fargo Municipals Bond Fund A (WMFAX Quick QuoteWMFAX - Free Report) could be a potential option. WMFAX carries 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

Allspring is based in San Francisco, CA, and is the manager of WMFAX. The Wells Fargo Municipals Bond Fund A made its debut in April of 2005 and WMFAX has managed to accumulate roughly $780.81 million 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 has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 1.6%, and it sits in the middle third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of -1.06%, 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. WMFAX's standard deviation over the past three years is 6.48% compared to the category average of 13.16%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 6.01% compared to the category average of 13.6%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

With a beta of 0.85, this fund is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, WMFAX has a negative alpha of -0.42, 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, WMFAX has 46.67% in high quality bonds rated at least 'AA' or higher, while 46.78% are of medium quality, with ratings of 'A' to 'BBB'. The fund has an average quality of A, and focuses on high quality securities.

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, WMFAX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.76% compared to the category average of 0.90%. From a cost perspective, WMFAX is actually cheaper than its peers.

This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $1,000, and each subsequent investment should be at least $100.

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

Bottom Line

Overall, Wells Fargo Municipals Bond Fund A ( WMFAX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, better downside risk, and lower fees, Wells Fargo Municipals Bond Fund A ( WMFAX ) looks like a good potential 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. 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.