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Is GAMDX a Strong Bond Fund Right Now?

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Having trouble finding a International Bond - Emerging fund? Well, Goldman Sachs Local Emerging Markets Debt A (GAMDX - Free Report) would not be a good potential starting point right now. GAMDX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 5 (Strong Sell), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

GAMDX is part of the International Bond - Emerging section, a segment that boasts an impressive array of other possible selections. International Bond - Emerging funds offer a unique type of geographic diversification by focusing on fixed income securities from emerging nations around the globe. With these funds, investors can expect exposure to economies such as China, Brazil, India, South Africa, and Indonesia, just to name a few. While this can be appealing, these funds can also introduce currency risk.

History of Fund/Manager

Goldman Sachs is based in New York, NY, and is the manager of GAMDX. The Goldman Sachs Local Emerging Markets Debt A made its debut in February of 2008 and GAMDX has managed to accumulate roughly $3.14 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund's current manager, Nicholas Saunders, has been in charge of the fund since October of 2023.

Performance

Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. GAMDX has a 5-year annualized total return of 0.9%, 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 8.58%, 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. The standard deviation of GAMDX over the past three years is 6.65% compared to the category average of 10.34%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 8.29% compared to the category average of 11.92%. 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, so when judging how fixed income securities will respond in a shifting rate environment, it is an excellent figure to look at.

For those that believe interest rates will rise, this is an important factor to consider. GAMDX has a modified duration of 3.95, which suggests that the fund will decline 3.95% for every hundred-basis-point increase in interest rates.

Income

Since income is, of course, a big reason for purchasing a fixed income security, it is always important to consider the fund's average coupon. Average coupon is a look at the average payout by the fund in a given year. For example, this fund's average coupon of 6.28% means that a $10,000 investment should result in a yearly payout of $628.

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. Because income is only one part of the bond picture, investors should also consider risk relative to broad benchmarks.

GAMDX carries a beta of 0.35, 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 1.2, 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, GAMDX is a load fund and it has an expense ratio of 1.14%.

This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $1,000, and each subsequent investment should 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

With a 'strong sell' rank, Goldman Sachs Local Emerging Markets Debt A is in the bottom 20% of all mutual funds we cover. This means that our models suggest it is one of the worst options for investors in International Bond - Emerging right now, though this could change if the performance of the fund and the Zacks Ranks of the equities in GAMDX turnaround in the next data release.

Want even more information about GAMDX? Then go over to Zacks.com and check out our mutual fund comparison tool, and all of the other great features that we have to help you with your mutual fund analysis for additional information. Want to learn even more? We have a full suite of tools on stocks that you can use to find the best choices for your portfolio too, no matter what kind of investor you are.


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