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High Yield - Bonds fund seekers should consider taking a look at Virtus Seix Floating Rate High Income I (SAMBX - Free Report) . SAMBX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
SAMBX 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
Virtus Funds is responsible for SAMBX, and the company is based out of Hartford, CT. The Virtus Seix Floating Rate High Income I made its debut in March of 2006 and SAMBX has managed to accumulate roughly $879.69 million in assets, as of 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 5.83%, and is in the top third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 7.79%, 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. Compared to the category average of 9.47%, the standard deviation of SAMBX over the past three years is 2.27%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 3.09% compared to the category average of 10.96%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Income
We must remember to consider the fund's average coupon, as income is traditionally a big reason for purchasing a fixed income security. This metric takes a look at the average payout by the fund in a given year. For example, this fund's average coupon of 7.33% means that a $10,000 investment should result in a yearly payout of $733.
While a higher coupon is good for when you want a strong level of current income, it could present a reinvestment risk 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.
SAMBX carries a beta of -0.13, 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 3, which measures performance on a risk-adjusted basis.
However, it is worth noting that 97% of the bonds in this fund are not ranked, so take the average quality level with a bit of caution.
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, SAMBX is a no load fund and it has an expense ratio of 0.63%.
This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $100,000, while there is no minimum for each subsequent investment.
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 Virtus Funds 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 High Yield - Bonds category.
This could just be the start of your research on SAMBX in the High Yield - Bonds 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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Is SAMBX a Strong Bond Fund Right Now?
High Yield - Bonds fund seekers should consider taking a look at Virtus Seix Floating Rate High Income I (SAMBX - Free Report) . SAMBX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
SAMBX 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
Virtus Funds is responsible for SAMBX, and the company is based out of Hartford, CT. The Virtus Seix Floating Rate High Income I made its debut in March of 2006 and SAMBX has managed to accumulate roughly $879.69 million in assets, as of 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 5.83%, and is in the top third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 7.79%, 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. Compared to the category average of 9.47%, the standard deviation of SAMBX over the past three years is 2.27%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 3.09% compared to the category average of 10.96%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Income
We must remember to consider the fund's average coupon, as income is traditionally a big reason for purchasing a fixed income security. This metric takes a look at the average payout by the fund in a given year. For example, this fund's average coupon of 7.33% means that a $10,000 investment should result in a yearly payout of $733.
While a higher coupon is good for when you want a strong level of current income, it could present a reinvestment risk 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.
SAMBX carries a beta of -0.13, 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 3, which measures performance on a risk-adjusted basis.However, it is worth noting that 97% of the bonds in this fund are not ranked, so take the average quality level with a bit of caution.
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, SAMBX is a no load fund and it has an expense ratio of 0.63%.
This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $100,000, while there is no minimum for each subsequent investment.
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 Virtus Funds 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 High Yield - Bonds category.
This could just be the start of your research on SAMBX in the High Yield - Bonds 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.