Is AIANX a Strong Bond Fund Right Now?
Have you been searching for a Mutual Fund Bond fund? You might want to begin with American Century Inflation Adjustable Bond Institutional (AIANX). AIANX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
History of Fund/Manager
American Century is based in Kansas City, MO, and is the manager of AIANX. American Century Inflation Adjustable Bond Institutional made its debut in January of 2003, and since then, AIANX has accumulated about $178.34 million in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. A team of investment professionals is the fund's current manager.
Performance
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 3.4%, and is in the top 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 -0.08%, 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. Over the past three years, AIANX's standard deviation comes in at 7.7%, compared to the category average of 13.78%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 6.67% compared to the category average of 14.29%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
This fund has a beta of 0.58, meaning that it is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, AIANX has a positive alpha of 2.62, which measures performance on a risk-adjusted basis.
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, AIANX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.31% compared to the category average of 0.92%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, AIANX is actually cheaper than its peers.
Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $0; each subsequent investment has no minimum amount.
Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Bottom Line
Overall, American Century Inflation Adjustable Bond Institutional ( AIANX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, better downside risk, and lower fees, American Century Inflation Adjustable Bond Institutional ( AIANX ) looks like a somewhat average choice for investors right now.
This could just be the start of your research on AIANXin the Mutual Fund Bond 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. And don't forget, Zacks has all of your needs covered on the equity side too! Make sure to check out Zacks.com for more information on our screening capabilities, Rank, and all our articles as well.
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