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Is AIANX a Strong Bond Fund Right Now?

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Any investors hoping to find a Government - Bonds: Misc fund could think about starting with American Century Inflation Adjustable Bond Institutional (AIANX - Free Report) . AIANX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

We classify AIANX in the Government - Bonds: Misc category, an area rife with potential choices. Government - Bonds: Misc funds hold securities issued by the federal government of the United States of America. These are seen as extremely low risk securities from a default perspective, and are often regarded as risk-free assets. This category stretches across the curve, so the yields and interest rate sensitivity will vary, though a mixed approach generally results in a medium yield and risk profile.

History of Fund/Manager

American Century is based in Kansas City, MO, and is the manager of AIANX. The American Century Inflation Adjustable Bond Institutional made its debut in January of 2003 and AIANX has managed to accumulate roughly $137.92 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 2.67%, and is 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 -2.58%, 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 13.57%, the standard deviation of AIANX over the past three years is 7.3%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 6.88% compared to the category average of 14.34%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

With a beta of 0.54, this fund is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, AIANX has a positive alpha of 2.73, 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, AIANX has 93.02% in high quality bonds rated at least 'AA' or higher. The fund has an average quality of AAA, 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, AIANX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.34% compared to the category average of 0.91%. AIANX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.

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, American Century Inflation Adjustable Bond Institutional ( AIANX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, better downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a somewhat average choice for investors right now.

Don't stop here for your research on Government - Bonds: Misc 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 AIANX to its peers as well for additional information. If you want to check out our stock reports as well, make sure to go to Zacks.com to see all of the great tools we have to offer, including our time-tested Zacks Rank.


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