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There are plenty of choices in the Investment Grade Bond - Intermediate category, but where should you start your research? Well, one fund that may not be worth investigating is Loomis Sayles Bond Fund Retail (LSBRX - Free Report) . LSBRX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 4 (Sell), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
We classify LSBRX in the Investment Grade Bond - Intermediate category, an area rife with potential choices. Investment Grade Bond - Intermediate funds target the middle part of the curve, typically by investing in bonds that mature in more than three years but less than 15 years. At these maturity levels, fixed income instruments have medium duration risk--but they compensate investors with a respectable yield compared to shorter maturity options. Finally, a focus on investment grade ensures that these funds are safer, but yields will be lower than in the junk bond category.
History of Fund/Manager
Loomis-Sayles is based in Boston, MA, and is the manager of LSBRX. Loomis Sayles Bond Fund Retail made its debut in May of 1991, and since then, LSBRX has accumulated about $670.56 million in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund is currently managed by Matthew Eagan who has been in charge of the fund since February of 2007.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 3.64%, and it sits 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 4%, 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. The standard deviation of LSBRX over the past three years is 7.68% compared to the category average of 11.8%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 7.16% compared to the category average of 11.47%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
This fund has a beta of 0.66, meaning that it is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, LSBRX has a positive alpha of 4.42, 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, LSBRX has 54.4% in medium quality bonds, with ratings of 'A' to 'BBB'. The fund's junk bond component-bonds rated 'BB' or below-is at 17.6%, giving LSBRX an average quality of BBB. This means that it focuses on medium quality securities.
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, LSBRX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.91% compared to the category average of 0.94%. LSBRX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.
Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $0; 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, even with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Loomis Sayles Bond Fund Retail ( LSBRX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and therefore looks a somewhat weak choice for investors right now.
Your research on the Investment Grade Bond - Intermediate segment doesn't have to stop here. You can check out all the great mutual fund tools we have to offer by going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds to see the additional features we offer as well 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.
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Is LSBRX a Strong Bond Fund Right Now?
There are plenty of choices in the Investment Grade Bond - Intermediate category, but where should you start your research? Well, one fund that may not be worth investigating is Loomis Sayles Bond Fund Retail (LSBRX - Free Report) . LSBRX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 4 (Sell), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
We classify LSBRX in the Investment Grade Bond - Intermediate category, an area rife with potential choices. Investment Grade Bond - Intermediate funds target the middle part of the curve, typically by investing in bonds that mature in more than three years but less than 15 years. At these maturity levels, fixed income instruments have medium duration risk--but they compensate investors with a respectable yield compared to shorter maturity options. Finally, a focus on investment grade ensures that these funds are safer, but yields will be lower than in the junk bond category.
History of Fund/Manager
Loomis-Sayles is based in Boston, MA, and is the manager of LSBRX. Loomis Sayles Bond Fund Retail made its debut in May of 1991, and since then, LSBRX has accumulated about $670.56 million in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund is currently managed by Matthew Eagan who has been in charge of the fund since February of 2007.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 3.64%, and it sits 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 4%, 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. The standard deviation of LSBRX over the past three years is 7.68% compared to the category average of 11.8%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 7.16% compared to the category average of 11.47%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
This fund has a beta of 0.66, meaning that it is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, LSBRX has a positive alpha of 4.42, 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, LSBRX has 54.4% in medium quality bonds, with ratings of 'A' to 'BBB'. The fund's junk bond component-bonds rated 'BB' or below-is at 17.6%, giving LSBRX an average quality of BBB. This means that it focuses on medium quality securities.
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, LSBRX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.91% compared to the category average of 0.94%. LSBRX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.
Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $0; 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, even with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Loomis Sayles Bond Fund Retail ( LSBRX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and therefore looks a somewhat weak choice for investors right now.
Your research on the Investment Grade Bond - Intermediate segment doesn't have to stop here. You can check out all the great mutual fund tools we have to offer by going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds to see the additional features we offer as well 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.