If you have been looking for High Yield - Bonds fund category, a potential starting could be Lord Abbett Bond Debenture A (LBNDX Quick QuoteLBNDX - Free Report) . LBNDX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

LBNDX is part of the High Yield - Bonds section, which is a segment that boasts many possible options. Often referred to as "junk" bonds,High Yield - Bonds funds sit below investment grade, meaning they are at a high default risk compared to their investment grade peers. However, one advantage to junk bonds is that they generally pay out higher yields while posing similar interest rate risks to their investment grade counterparts.

History of Fund/Manager

LBNDX finds itself in the Lord Abbett family, based out of Jersey City, NJ. Lord Abbett Bond Debenture A made its debut in April of 1971, and since then, LBNDX has accumulated about $4.66 billion in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. A team of investment professionals is the fund's current manager.

Performance

Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 2.48%, and is in the bottom 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 6.84%, 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. Over the past three years, LBNDX's standard deviation comes in at 5%, compared to the category average of 10.97%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 5.83% compared to the category average of 12.48%. 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. LBNDX has a modified duration of 4.65, which suggests that the fund will decline 4.65% 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. A fund's average coupon is simply its average payout in a given year. For example, this fund's average coupon of 6.01% means that a $10,000 investment should result in a yearly payout of $601.

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. Since income is just one part of the bond picture, investors need to consider risk relative to broad benchmarks.

This fund has a beta of 0.38, meaning that it is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, LBNDX has a positive alpha of 1.94, 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, LBNDX has 33.5% in medium quality bonds, with ratings of "A" to "BBB". The fund's junk bond component-bonds rated "BB" or below-is at 44.2%, giving LBNDX 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, LBNDX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.79% compared to the category average of 0.95%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, LBNDX is actually cheaper than its peers.

Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $1,000 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, Lord Abbett Bond Debenture A ( LBNDX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, better downside risk, and lower fees, Lord Abbett Bond Debenture A ( LBNDX ) looks like a somewhat average choice for investors right now.

Don't stop here for your research on High Yield - Bonds 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 LBNDX to its peers 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.