There are plenty of choices in the Government - Bonds: Misc category, but where should you start your research? Well, one fund that might be worth investigating is Schwab Treasury Inflation Protected Security (SWRSX Quick QuoteSWRSX - Free Report) . SWRSX has no Zacks Mutual Fund Rank, but we have been able to look into other metrics like performance, volatility, and cost.

Objective

We note that SWRSX is a Government - Bonds: Misc option, and this area is loaded with many different choices. Often seen as risk-free assets and described as extremely low-risk from a default perspective, Government - Bonds: Misc funds hold securities issued by the United States' federal government. This category stretches across the curve, meaning the yields and interest rate sensitivity will vary, but a mixed approach can typically result in a medium yield and risk profile.

History of Fund/Manager

SWRSX finds itself in the Schwab Funds family, based out of San Francisco, CA. The Schwab Treasury Inflation Protected Security made its debut in March of 2006 and SWRSX has managed to accumulate roughly $2.57 billion in assets, as of the most recently available information. A team of investment professionals is the fund's current manager.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 1.57%, 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 0.89%, 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. Over the past three years, SWRSX's standard deviation comes in at 7%, compared to the category average of 6.85%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 6.15% compared to the category average of 6.56%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

SWRSX carries a beta of 0.63, 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 1.91, 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, SWRSX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.05% compared to the category average of 0.57%. From a cost perspective, SWRSX is actually cheaper than its peers.

Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $0 and that 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

Your research on the Government - Bonds: Misc 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. And don't forget, Zacks has all of your needs covered on the equity side too! Make sure to check out Zacks.com for more information on our screening capabilities, Rank, and all our articles as well.