If investors are looking at the High Yield – Bonds fund category, AB High Income Fund C (AGDCX) could be a potential option. AGDCX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
AGDCX is part of the High Yield – Bonds section, which is a segment that boasts many possible options. Often referred to as ” junk ” bonds, High Yield – Bonds funds sit below investment grade, meaning they are at a high default risk compared to their investment grade peers. However, one advantage to junk bonds is that they generally pay out higher yields while posing similar interest rate risks to their investment grade counterparts.
AllianceBernstein is based in New York, NY, and is the manager of AGDCX. AB High Income Fund C made its debut in February of 1994, and since then, AGDCX has accumulated about $124.66 million in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. A team of investment professionals is the fund’s current manager.
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 5.53%, 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 6.02%, which places it in the top third during this time-frame.
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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, AGDCX’s standard deviation comes in at 7.95%, compared to the category average of 12.42%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 7.39% compared to the category average of 12.11%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Modified duration is a measure of a given bond’s interest rate sensitivity, and is a metric that’s a good way to judge how fixed income securities will respond in a shifting rate environment.
If you believe interest rates will rise, this is an important factor to look at. AGDCX has a modified duration of 3.06, which suggests that the fund will decline 3.06% for every hundred-basis-point increase in interest rates.
It is important to consider the fund’s average coupon because income is often a big reason for purchasing a fixed income security. A fund’s average coupon is simply its average payout in a given year. For example, this fund’s average coupon of 6.77% means that a $10,000 investment should result in a yearly payout of $677.
A higher coupon is good for those seeking a strong level of current income, but it could also pose a reinvestment risk if rates are lower in the future when compared to the initial purchase date of the bond.
Income is only one part of the bond picture, investors also need to consider risk relative to broad benchmarks. With a beta of 0.18, this fund is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, AGDCX has a positive alpha of 6.05, which measures performance on a risk-adjusted basis.
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, AGDCX ‘s junk bond component-bonds rated ‘BB’ or below-is at 77.4%. This means that the fund has an average quality of BBB, and focuses on medium quality securities.
Costs are increasingly important for mutual fund investing, and particularly as competition heats up in this market. And all things being equal, a lower cost product will outperform its otherwise identical counterpart, so taking a closer look at these metrics is key for investors. In terms of fees, AGDCX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.64% compared to the category average of 0.93%. AGDCX is actually more expensive than its peers when you consider factors like cost.
This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $2,500, and each subsequent investment should be at least $50.
Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Overall, AB High Income Fund C ( AGDCX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and higher fees, AB High Income Fund C ( AGDCX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
Your research on the High Yield – Bonds segment doesn’t have to stop here. You can check out all the great mutual fund tools we have to offer by going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds to see the additional features we offer 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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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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