Having trouble finding a Mutual Fund Bond fund? Franklin California High Yield Municipals A (FCAMX Quick QuoteFCAMX - Free Report) is a potential starting point. FCAMX possesses 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

Franklin is based in San Mateo, CA, and is the manager of FCAMX. The Franklin California High Yield Municipals A made its debut in May of 1993 and FCAMX has managed to accumulate roughly $791.80 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund's current manager is a team of investment professionals.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 1.57%, 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 -1.88%, 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 FCAMX over the past three years is 8.66% compared to the category average of 13.2%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 8.18% compared to the category average of 13.62%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

FCAMX carries a beta of 1.11, meaning that the fund is more volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. With this in mind, it has a negative alpha of -0.41, which measures performance on a risk-adjusted basis.

Ratings

However, it is worth noting that 49 % of the bonds in this fund are not ranked, so take the average quality level with a bit of caution.

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, FCAMX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.66% compared to the category average of 0.90%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, FCAMX is actually cheaper than its peers.

While the minimum initial investment for the product is $1,000, investors should also note that 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, Franklin California High Yield Municipals A ( FCAMX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, better downside risk, and lower fees, Franklin California High Yield Municipals A ( FCAMX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.

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