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If you have been looking for Investment Grade Bond - Intermediate funds, a place to start could be Victory Income (USAIX - Free Report) . USAIX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
USAIX 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
Victory is based in Columbus, OH, and is the manager of USAIX. Since Victory Income made its debut in March of 1974, USAIX has garnered more than $1.94 billion in assets. The fund's current manager is a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 1.36%, and it sits in the top 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 2.85%, which places it in the top 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 12.5%, the standard deviation of USAIX over the past three years is 6.89%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 6.2% compared to the category average of 13.05%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
This fund has a beta of 0.83, meaning that it is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, USAIX has a positive alpha of 1.93, 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, USAIX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.59% compared to the category average of 0.88%. So, USAIX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.
Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $3,000; each subsequent investment needs to 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, Victory Income ( USAIX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, better downside risk, and lower fees, Victory Income ( USAIX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
For additional information on the Investment Grade Bond - Intermediate area of the mutual fund world, make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds. There, you can see more about the ranking process, and dive even deeper into USAIX too 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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Is USAIX a Strong Bond Fund Right Now?
If you have been looking for Investment Grade Bond - Intermediate funds, a place to start could be Victory Income (USAIX - Free Report) . USAIX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
USAIX 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
Victory is based in Columbus, OH, and is the manager of USAIX. Since Victory Income made its debut in March of 1974, USAIX has garnered more than $1.94 billion in assets. The fund's current manager is a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 1.36%, and it sits in the top 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 2.85%, which places it in the top 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 12.5%, the standard deviation of USAIX over the past three years is 6.89%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 6.2% compared to the category average of 13.05%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
This fund has a beta of 0.83, meaning that it is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, USAIX has a positive alpha of 1.93, 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, USAIX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.59% compared to the category average of 0.88%. So, USAIX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.
Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $3,000; each subsequent investment needs to 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, Victory Income ( USAIX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, better downside risk, and lower fees, Victory Income ( USAIX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
For additional information on the Investment Grade Bond - Intermediate area of the mutual fund world, make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds. There, you can see more about the ranking process, and dive even deeper into USAIX too 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.