Is NUVBX a Strong Bond Fund Right Now?
Mutual Fund Bond fund seekers should consider taking a look at Nuveen Intermediate Duration Municipals I (NUVBX). NUVBX holds 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
Nuveen is based in Chicago, IL, and is the manager of NUVBX. Nuveen Intermediate Duration Municipals I debuted in November of 1976. Since then, NUVBX has accumulated assets of about $7.11 billion, according to the most recently available information. The fund's current manager, Paul L. Brennan, has been in charge of the fund since January of 2007.
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 0.86%, 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 -1.97%, 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. The standard deviation of NUVBX over the past three years is 5.57% compared to the category average of 11.56%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 5.27% compared to the category average of 11.91%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
With a beta of 0.75, this fund is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, NUVBX has a negative alpha of -0.24, 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, NUVBX has 37.1% in high quality bonds rated at least 'AA' or higher, while 47.4% are of medium quality, with ratings of 'A' to 'BBB'. The fund has an average quality of A, and focuses on high quality securities.
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, NUVBX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.44% compared to the category average of 0.85%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, NUVBX is actually cheaper than its peers.
Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $100,000 and that 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, Nuveen Intermediate Duration Municipals I ( NUVBX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, better downside risk, and lower fees, Nuveen Intermediate Duration Municipals I ( NUVBX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
Don't stop here for your research on Mutual Fund Bond 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 NUVBX to its peers as well for additional information. For analysis of the rest of your portfolio, make sure to visit Zacks.com for our full suite of tools which will help you investigate all of your stocks and funds in one place.
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