Any investors hoping to find a Investment Grade - Bonds: Misc fund could think about starting with Lord Abbett Income Fund A (LAGVX Quick QuoteLAGVX - Free Report) . LAGVX 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 classify LAGVX in the Investment Grade - Bonds: Misc, as area rife with many potential choices. Investment Grade - Bonds: Misc funds are not focused on one part of the curve and often hold a variety of investment grade credit levels. However, this means that funds in this category may not be directly comparable, and duration risk will depend on a given fund's profile. Also, these funds tend to be safer because of their focus on investment grade, but yields will be lower than could be found in the junk bond category.

History of Fund/Manager

Lord Abbett is responsible for LAGVX, and the company is based out of Jersey City, NJ. Lord Abbett Income Fund A made its debut in January of 1982, and since then, LAGVX has accumulated about $1.43 billion in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund is currently managed by a team of investment professionals.

Performance

Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. LAGVX has a 5-year annualized total return of 1.12%, and it sits 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 5.23%, which places it in the top 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, LAGVX's standard deviation comes in at 6.26%, compared to the category average of 10.38%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 7.22% compared to the category average of 12.14%. 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.

If you believe interest rates will rise, this is an important factor to look at. LAGVX has a modified duration of 6.79, which suggests that the fund will decline 6.79% 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 calculates the fund's average payout in a given year. For example, this fund's average coupon of 5.25% means that a $10,000 investment should result in a yearly payout of $525.

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

With a beta of 0.93, this fund is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, LAGVX has a positive alpha of 1.32 , 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, LAGVX has 62.01% in medium quality bonds, with ratings of "A" to "BBB". The fund's junk bond component-bonds rated "BB" or below-is at 19.94%, giving LAGVX 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, LAGVX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.71% compared to the category average of 0.89%. So, LAGVX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.

Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $1,500; 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 Income Fund A ( LAGVX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.

This could just be the start of your research on LAGVX in the Investment Grade - 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. If you want to check out our stock reports as well, make sure to go to Zacks.com to see all of the great tools we have to offer, including our time-tested Zacks Rank.