There are plenty of choices in the Government Bond - Short category, but where should you start your research? Well, one fund that might be worth investigating is Lord Abbett Short Duration Income F (LDLFX Quick QuoteLDLFX - Free Report) . LDLFX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

LDLFX is one of many Government Bond - Short funds to choose from. Often seen as risk-free assets and described as extremely low-risk from a default perspective, Government Bond - Short funds hold securities issued by the federal government of the United States. Focusing on the short end of the curve, this category can result in n lower yields, but less sensitivity to interest rate fluctuations.

History of Fund/Manager

Lord Abbett is based in Jersey City, NJ, and is the manager of LDLFX. The Lord Abbett Short Duration Income F made its debut in September of 2007 and LDLFX has managed to accumulate roughly $1.10 billion in assets, as of the most recently available information. A team of investment professionals is the fund's current manager.

Performance

Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 1.86%, and it sits in the middle third among its category peers. If you're interested in shorter time frames, do not dismiss looking at the fund's 3 -year annualized total return of 1.68%, 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. LDLFX's standard deviation over the past three years is 2.54% compared to the category average of 13.15%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 3.87% compared to the category average of 13.94%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

With a beta of 0.29, this fund is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, LDLFX has a positive alpha of 0.38, which measures performance on a risk-adjusted basis.

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, LDLFX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.48% compared to the category average of 0.91%. LDLFX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.

Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $0 and that each subsequent investment has no minimum amount.

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

Bottom Line

Overall, Lord Abbett Short Duration Income F ( LDLFX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, better downside risk, and lower fees, Lord Abbett Short Duration Income F ( LDLFX ) looks like a great potential choice for investors right now.

For additional information on this product, or to compare it to other mutual funds in the Government Bond - Short, 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.