On the lookout for a Government Mortgage - Intermediate fund? Starting with Wells Fargo Coreblder Shares Series M (WFCMX Quick QuoteWFCMX - Free Report) should not be a possibility at this time. WFCMX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 5 (Strong Sell), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

We classify WFCMX in the Government Mortgage - Intermediate category, an area full of potential choices. Government Mortgage - Intermediate funds focus on the mortgage-backed securities (MBS) market, which packages mortgages together and then sells off the pooled securities as a MBS. Honing in on MBS'that have at least three years to maturity but less than 10, this fund category presents a medium risk and yield profile.

History of Fund/Manager

Allspring is based in San Francisco, CA, and is the manager of WFCMX. Since Wells Fargo Coreblder Shares Series M made its debut in February of 2009, WFCMX has garnered more than $780.66 million in assets. 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. WFCMX has a 5-year annualized total return of 1.66% 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 0.58%, which places it in the middle 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. Compared to the category average of 7.94%, the standard deviation of WFCMX over the past three years is 6.87%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 6.43% compared to the category average of 8.03%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

This fund has a beta of 0.71, meaning that it is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, WFCMX has a positive alpha of 1.45, which measures performance on a risk-adjusted basis.

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, WFCMX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.03% compared to the category average of 0.57%. So, WFCMX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.

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, even with its comparatively weak performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Wells Fargo Coreblder Shares Series M ( WFCMX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and therefore looks a somewhat weak choice for investors right now.

For additional information on this product, or to compare it to other mutual funds in the Government Mortgage - Intermediate, make sure to go to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds 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.