Any investors hoping to find a High Yield - Bonds fund could think about starting with Eaton Vance Floating-Rate Advantage A (EAFAX Quick QuoteEAFAX - Free Report) . EAFAX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

EAFAX is classified in the High Yield - Bonds segment by Zacks, an area full of investment possibilities. High Yield - Bonds funds come in below investment grade, and are referred to as " junk " bonds for this reason. Compared to their investment grade peers, these funds are at a higher default risk, but typically pay out higher yields while posing similar interest rate risks.

History of Fund/Manager

EAFAX is a part of the Eaton Vance family of funds, a company based out of Boston, MA. Eaton Vance Floating-Rate Advantage A debuted in April of 2008. Since then, EAFAX has accumulated assets of about $1.05 billion, according to 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 has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 7.58%, and is 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 6.47%, 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 11.8%, the standard deviation of EAFAX over the past three years is 4.91%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 4.52% compared to the category average of 11.52%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

EAFAX carries a beta of -0.19, meaning that the fund is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. With this in mind, it has a positive alpha of 5.83, 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, EAFAX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1% compared to the category average of 0.97%. From a cost perspective, EAFAX is actually more expensive than its peers.

This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $1,000, 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, Eaton Vance Floating-Rate Advantage A ( EAFAX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, better downside risk, and higher fees, this fund looks like a somewhat average choice for investors right now.

For additional information on the High Yield - Bonds 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 EAFAX too for additional information. If you are more of a stock investor, make sure to also check out our Zacks Rank, and our full suite of tools we have available for novice and professional investors alike.