Is EAFAX a Strong Bond Fund Right Now?
On the lookout for a Mutual Fund Bond fund? Starting with Eaton Vance Floating-Rate Advantage A (EAFAX) is one possibility. EAFAX holds 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
Eaton Vance is based in Boston, MA, and is the manager of EAFAX. Eaton Vance Floating-Rate Advantage A debuted in April of 2008. Since then, EAFAX has accumulated assets of about $1.14 billion, according to the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 3.28%, 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 5.16%, 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, EAFAX's standard deviation comes in at 5.09%, compared to the category average of 12.27%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 8.76% compared to the category average of 13.67%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
This fund has a beta of -0.12, meaning that it is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, EAFAX has a positive alpha of 2.39, 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, EAFAX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1% compared to the category average of 0.98%. From a cost perspective, EAFAX is actually more expensive than its peers.
Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $1,000; 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, Eaton Vance Floating-Rate Advantage A ( EAFAX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and higher fees, Eaton Vance Floating-Rate Advantage A ( EAFAX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
Want even more information about EAFAX? Then go over to Zacks.com and check out our mutual fund comparison tool, and all of the other great features that we have to help you with your mutual fund analysis 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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