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Is LUBIX a Strong Bond Fund Right Now?

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If you've been stuck searching for Investment Grade Bond - Intermediate funds, consider Thrivent Income Fund A (LUBIX - Free Report) as a possibility. LUBIX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

LUBIX is one of many Investment Grade Bond - Intermediate funds to pick from. Investment Grade Bond - Intermediate funds focus on the middle part of the curve, generally with bonds that usually mature in more than three years but less than 15 years. Fixed income instruments with this maturity level usually have medium duration risk, but they also compensate investors with a modest yield, at least when compared to their short maturity counterparts. Additionally, the focus on investment grade will make funds here safer, but yields will be lower than in the junk bond category.

History of Fund/Manager

Thrivent is based in Appleton, WI, and is the manager of LUBIX. The Thrivent Income Fund A made its debut in June of 1972 and LUBIX has managed to accumulate roughly $232.14 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by Kent White who has been in charge of the fund since June of 2017.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 1.09%, and is 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 -1.54%, 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. LUBIX's standard deviation over the past three years is 9.35% compared to the category average of 11.56%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 8.59% compared to the category average of 11.96%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

With a beta of 0.94, this fund is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, LUBIX has a positive alpha of 1.82, which measures performance on a risk-adjusted basis.

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, LUBIX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.77% compared to the category average of 0.78%. From a cost perspective, LUBIX is actually cheaper than its peers.

This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $2,000, and each subsequent investment should be at least $50.

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

Bottom Line

Overall, Thrivent Income Fund A ( LUBIX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.

Don't stop here for your research on Investment Grade Bond - Intermediate funds. We also have plenty more on our site in order to help you find the best possible fund for your portfolio. Make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for more information about the world of funds, and feel free to compare LUBIX to its peers as well 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.


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