There are plenty of choices in the Government Mortgage - Intermediate category, but where should you start your research? Well, one fund that might be worth investigating is Allspring Core Plus Bond A (STYAX Quick QuoteSTYAX - Free Report) . STYAX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

The world of Government Mortgage - Intermediate funds is an area filled with choices, such as STYAX. A mortgage-backed security (MBS) is a type of asset-backed security that packages mortgages together and then sells off the pooled securities. Government Mortgage - Intermediate funds focus on this market; this fund category presents a medium risk and yield profile, and concentrates on MBS with at least three years to maturity but less than 10.

History of Fund/Manager

Allspring is responsible for STYAX, and the company is based out of San Francisco, CA. Allspring Core Plus Bond A debuted in July of 1998. Since then, STYAX has accumulated assets of about $349.65 million, according to the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by a team of investment professionals.

Performance

Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 0.16%, and is in the middle third among its category peers. If you're interested in shorter time frames, do not dismiss looking at the fund's 3-year annualized total return of 5.07%, 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 STYAX over the past three years is 6.16% compared to the category average of 10.52%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 6.32% compared to the category average of 11.81%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Bond Duration

Modified duration is a measure of a specific bond's interest rate sensitivity, and is an excellent way to judge how fixed income securities will respond to a shifting rate environment.

If you believe interest rates will rise, this is an important factor to look at. STYAX has a modified duration of 6.04, which suggests that the fund will decline 6.04% for every hundred-basis-point increase in interest rates.

Income

It is important to consider the fund's average coupon because income is often a big reason for purchasing a fixed income security. Average coupon is a look at the average payout by the fund in a given year. For example, this fund's average coupon of 4.87% means that a $10,000 investment should result in a yearly payout of $487.

If you are looking for a strong level of current income, a higher coupon is a good choice, though it could pose a reinvestment risk; these risks can occur if rates are lower in the future when compared to the initial purchase date of the bond. Investors also need to consider risk relative to broad benchmarks, as income is only one part of the bond picture.

STYAX carries a beta of 0.95, 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 0.46, 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, STYAX has 55.08% in high quality bonds rated at least "AA" or higher, while 29.12% are of medium quality, with ratings of "A" to "BBB". The fund has an average quality of A, and focuses on high 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, STYAX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.81% compared to the category average of 0.89%. So, STYAX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.

This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $1,000, and each subsequent investment should be at least $100.

Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into consideration. Returns would be less if those were included.

Bottom Line

Overall, Allspring Core Plus Bond A ( STYAX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, better downside risk, and lower fees, Allspring Core Plus Bond A ( STYAX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.

Don't stop here for your research on Government Mortgage - Intermediate funds. We also have plenty more on our site in order to help you find the best possible fund for your portfolio. Make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for more information about the world of funds, and feel free to compare STYAX to its peers 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.