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Is SWRSX a Strong Bond Fund Right Now?

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Have you been searching for a Government - Bonds: Misc fund? You might want to begin with Schwab Treasury Inflation Protected Security (SWRSX - Free Report) . While this fund is not tracked by the Zacks Mutual Fund Rank, we were able to examine other factors 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 is a part of the Schwab Funds family of funds, a company 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 $2.93 billion in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by a team of investment professionals.

Performance

Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 1.37%, and is in the middle third among its category peers. But if you are looking for a shorter time frame, it is also worth looking at its 3-year annualized total return of 3.96%, 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 4.61%, compared to the category average of 4.63%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 6.02% compared to the category average of 6.35%. 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.

For investors who think interest rates will rise, this is an important factor to consider. SWRSX has a modified duration of 6.37, which suggests that the fund will decline 6.37% for every hundred-basis-point increase in interest rates.

Income

Income is often a big reason for purchasing a fixed income security, so it is important to consider the fund's average coupon. This metric takes a look at the average payout by the fund in a given year. For example, this fund's average coupon of 1.19% means that a $10,000 investment should result in a yearly payout of $119.

A higher coupon is good for those seeking a strong level of current income, but it could also pose a reinvestment risk if rates are lower in the future when compared to the initial purchase date of the bond. Income is only one part of the bond picture, investors also need to consider risk relative to broad benchmarks.

This fund has a beta of 0.71, meaning that it is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, SWRSX has a positive alpha of 1.06, which measures performance on a risk-adjusted basis.

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, SWRSX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.05% compared to the category average of 0.58%. So, SWRSX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.

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

This could just be the start of your research on SWRSX in the Government - Bonds: Misc 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. Zacks provides a full suite of tools to help you analyze your portfolio - both funds and stocks - in the most efficient way possible.


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