Is USIBX a Strong Bond Fund Right Now?

There are plenty of choices in the Investment Grade Bond - Intermediate category, but where should you start your research? Well, one fund that might be worth investigating is Victory Core Plus IT Bond (USIBX). USIBX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

We note that USIBX is an Investment Grade Bond - Intermediate option, which is a segment loaded with many different investment options. By targeting bonds that mature in more than three years but less than 15 years, Investment Grade Bond - Intermediate funds are a middle of the curve option. Fixed income instruments at this maturity level usually have medium duration risk, but their yields are respectable, especially in comparison to their short-maturity counterparts. Additionally, a focus on investment grade makes these funds safer, but yields tend to be lower than in the junk bond category.

History of Fund/Manager

USIBX is a part of the Victory family of funds, a company based out of Columbus, OH. Since Victory Core Plus IT Bond made its debut in August of 1999, USIBX has garnered more than $1.46 billion in assets. The fund is currently managed by a team of investment professionals.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. USIBX has a 5-year annualized total return of 1.84% and is 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 2.81%, 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. USIBX's standard deviation over the past three years is 6.8% compared to the category average of 12.83%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 6.09% compared to the category average of 13.46%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

This fund has a beta of 0.85, meaning that it is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, USIBX has a positive alpha of 2.34, 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, USIBX has 62.58% in high quality bonds rated at least 'AA' or higher, while 30.92% are of medium quality, with ratings of 'A' to 'BBB'. The fund has an average quality of AA, and focuses on high quality securities.

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, USIBX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.64% compared to the category average of 0.89%. USIBX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.

While the minimum initial investment for the product is $3,000, investors should also note that each subsequent investment needs to be at least $50.

Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.

Bottom Line

Overall, Victory Core Plus IT Bond ( USIBX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, better downside risk, and lower fees, Victory Core Plus IT Bond ( USIBX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.

This could just be the start of your research on USIBXin the Investment Grade Bond - Intermediate 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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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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