If investors are looking at the Convertible Bonds fund category, Franklin Convertible Securities A (FISCX Quick QuoteFISCX - Free Report) could be a potential option. FISCX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

History of Fund/Manager

FISCX finds itself in the Franklin family, based out of San Mateo, CA. The Franklin Convertible Securities A made its debut in April of 1987 and FISCX has managed to accumulate roughly $1.05 billion in assets, as of the most recently available information. Eric Webster is the fund's current manager and has held that role since March of 2016.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. FISCX has a 5-year annualized total return of 5.77%, and it sits in the middle 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 14.91%, 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. Compared to the category average of 10.9%, the standard deviation of FISCX over the past three years is 9.53%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 10.79% compared to the category average of 12.53%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

Investors should not forget about beta, an important way to measure a mutual fund's risk compared to the market as a whole. FISCX has a 5-year beta of 0.6, which means it is likely to be less volatile than the market average. Another factor to consider is alpha, as it reflects a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark-in this case, the S&P 500. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a negative alpha of -3.43. This means that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

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, FISCX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.83% compared to the category average of 0.97%. FISCX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.

While the minimum initial investment for the product is $1,000, investors should also note that 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

Overall, Franklin Convertible Securities A ( FISCX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Franklin Convertible Securities A ( FISCX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.

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