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If you've been stuck searching for Investment Grade Bond - Intermediate funds, you might want to consider passing on by Fidelity Strategic Real Return (FSRRX - Free Report) as a possibility. FSRRX 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 FSRRX 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
FSRRX finds itself in the Fidelity family, based out of Boston, MA. The Fidelity Strategic Real Return made its debut in September of 2005 and FSRRX has managed to accumulate roughly $272.77 million 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 carries a 5-year annualized total return of 6.85%, and is in the top third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 3.72%, which places it in the bottom 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 13.29%, the standard deviation of FSRRX over the past three years is 7.1%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 7.72% compared to the category average of 12.79%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Bond Duration
Modified duration is a measure of a given bond's interest rate sensitivity, and is a metric that's a good way to judge how fixed income securities will respond in a shifting rate environment.
For investors who think interest rates will rise, this is an important factor to consider. FSRRX has a modified duration of 3.48, which suggests that the fund will decline 3.48% for every hundred-basis-point increase in interest rates.
FSRRX carries a beta of 0.12, 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 6.79, 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, FSRRX has 42.85% in high quality bonds rated at least "AA" or higher, while its junk bond component-bonds rated "BB" or below-is at 41.4%. This means that the fund has an average quality of A, 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, FSRRX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.70% compared to the category average of 0.92%. FSRRX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.
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 consideration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Bottom Line
Overall, even with its comparatively strong performance, better downside risk, and lower fees, Fidelity Strategic Real Return ( FSRRX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and therefore looks a somewhat weak choice for investors right now.
This could just be the start of your research on FSRRX in the Investment Grade Bond - Intermediate category. Consider going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for additional information about this fund, and all the others that we rank 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 FSRRX a Strong Bond Fund Right Now?
If you've been stuck searching for Investment Grade Bond - Intermediate funds, you might want to consider passing on by Fidelity Strategic Real Return (FSRRX - Free Report) as a possibility. FSRRX 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 FSRRX 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
FSRRX finds itself in the Fidelity family, based out of Boston, MA. The Fidelity Strategic Real Return made its debut in September of 2005 and FSRRX has managed to accumulate roughly $272.77 million 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 carries a 5-year annualized total return of 6.85%, and is in the top third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 3.72%, which places it in the bottom 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 13.29%, the standard deviation of FSRRX over the past three years is 7.1%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 7.72% compared to the category average of 12.79%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Bond Duration
Modified duration is a measure of a given bond's interest rate sensitivity, and is a metric that's a good way to judge how fixed income securities will respond in a shifting rate environment.
For investors who think interest rates will rise, this is an important factor to consider. FSRRX has a modified duration of 3.48, which suggests that the fund will decline 3.48% for every hundred-basis-point increase in interest rates.
FSRRX carries a beta of 0.12, 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 6.79, 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, FSRRX has 42.85% in high quality bonds rated at least "AA" or higher, while its junk bond component-bonds rated "BB" or below-is at 41.4%. This means that the fund has an average quality of A, 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, FSRRX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.70% compared to the category average of 0.92%. FSRRX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.
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 consideration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Bottom Line
Overall, even with its comparatively strong performance, better downside risk, and lower fees, Fidelity Strategic Real Return ( FSRRX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and therefore looks a somewhat weak choice for investors right now.
This could just be the start of your research on FSRRX in the Investment Grade Bond - Intermediate category. Consider going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for additional information about this fund, and all the others that we rank 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.