If you have been looking for Investment Grade Bond - Intermediate funds, a place to start could be Thrivent Income Fund A (LUBIX Quick QuoteLUBIX - Free Report) . LUBIX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

We note that LUBIX is a Investment Grade Bond - Intermediate option, which is a segment loaded with many different investment options. By targeting bonds that mature in more than three years but less than 15 years, Investment Grade Bond - Intermediate funds are a middle of the curve option. Fixed income instruments at this maturity level usually have medium duration risk, but their yields are respectable, especially in comparison to their short-maturity counterparts. Additionally, a focus on investment grade makes these funds safer, but yields tend to be lower than in the junk bond category.

History of Fund/Manager

Thrivent is based in Appleton, WI, and is the manager of LUBIX. The Thrivent Income Fund A made its debut in June of 1972 and LUBIX has managed to accumulate roughly $225.28 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by Kent White who has been in charge of the fund since June of 2017.

Performance

Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. LUBIX has a 5-year annualized total return of 0.06%, 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 6.4%, 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, LUBIX's standard deviation comes in at 6.83%, compared to the category average of 8.76%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 7.53% compared to the category average of 9.82%. 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. LUBIX has a modified duration of 6.53, which suggests that the fund will decline 6.53% for every hundred-basis-point increase in interest rates.

Income

We must remember to consider the fund's average coupon, as income is traditionally 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 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. 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 0.95, meaning that it is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, LUBIX has a positive alpha of 1.08, 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, LUBIX has 80.14% in medium quality bonds, with ratings of "A" to "BBB". The fund's junk bond component-bonds rated "BB" or below-is at 8.5%, giving LUBIX an average quality of BBB. This means that it focuses on medium 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, LUBIX is a load fund and it has an expense ratio of 0.75%.

Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $2,000; each subsequent investment needs to be at least $50.

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

Bottom Line

This puts this fund from Thrivent in the top 20% of all mutual funds we have a rank on right now. As a result, this is likely an excellent choice for investors seeking an option in the Investment Grade Bond - Intermediate category.

For additional information on this product, or to compare it to other mutual funds in the Investment Grade Bond - Intermediate, make sure to go to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds 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.