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Is Franklin Income A1 (FKINX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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If investors are looking at the Mutual Fund Equity Report fund category, Franklin Income A1 (FKINX - Free Report) could be a potential option. FKINX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
History of Fund/Manager
FKINX is a part of the Franklin family of funds, a company based out of San Mateo, CA. Franklin Income A1 made its debut in August of 1948, and since then, FKINX has accumulated about $31.09 billion in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund's current manager is a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. FKINX has a 5-year annualized total return of 5.56% and it sits 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 9.8%, 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, FKINX's standard deviation comes in at 10.8%, compared to the category average of 14.14%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 11.61% compared to the category average of 14.85%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
Investors should note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 0.55, which means it is hypothetically less volatile than the market at large. Alpha is an additional metric to take into consideration, since it represents a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which in this case, is the S&P 500. FKINX's 5-year performance has produced a negative alpha of -1.94, which means managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
Expenses
As competition heats up in the mutual fund market, costs become increasingly important. Compared to its otherwise identical counterpart, a low-cost product will be an outperformer, all other things being equal. Thus, taking a closer look at cost-related metrics is vital for investors. In terms of fees, FKINX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.61% compared to the category average of 0.85%. FKINX 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 considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Bottom Line
Overall, Franklin Income A1 ( FKINX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Franklin Income A1 ( FKINX ) looks like a great potential choice for investors right now.
Don't stop here for your research on Mutual Fund Equity Report funds. We also have plenty more on our site in order to help you find the best possible fund for your portfolio. Make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for more information about the world of funds, and feel free to compare FKINX to its peers 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 Franklin Income A1 (FKINX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
If investors are looking at the Mutual Fund Equity Report fund category, Franklin Income A1 (FKINX - Free Report) could be a potential option. FKINX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
History of Fund/Manager
FKINX is a part of the Franklin family of funds, a company based out of San Mateo, CA. Franklin Income A1 made its debut in August of 1948, and since then, FKINX has accumulated about $31.09 billion in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund's current manager is a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. FKINX has a 5-year annualized total return of 5.56% and it sits 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 9.8%, 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, FKINX's standard deviation comes in at 10.8%, compared to the category average of 14.14%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 11.61% compared to the category average of 14.85%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
Investors should note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 0.55, which means it is hypothetically less volatile than the market at large. Alpha is an additional metric to take into consideration, since it represents a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which in this case, is the S&P 500. FKINX's 5-year performance has produced a negative alpha of -1.94, which means managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
Expenses
As competition heats up in the mutual fund market, costs become increasingly important. Compared to its otherwise identical counterpart, a low-cost product will be an outperformer, all other things being equal. Thus, taking a closer look at cost-related metrics is vital for investors. In terms of fees, FKINX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.61% compared to the category average of 0.85%. FKINX 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 considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Bottom Line
Overall, Franklin Income A1 ( FKINX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Franklin Income A1 ( FKINX ) looks like a great potential choice for investors right now.
Don't stop here for your research on Mutual Fund Equity Report funds. We also have plenty more on our site in order to help you find the best possible fund for your portfolio. Make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for more information about the world of funds, and feel free to compare FKINX to its peers 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.