Yahoo Finance Is FEMDX a Strong Bond Fund Right Now?
On the lookout for a Mutual Fund Bond fund? Starting with Franklin Emerging Market Debt Opportunity Adviser (FEMDX) is one possibility. FEMDX has 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
Franklin is responsible for FEMDX, and the company is based out of San Mateo, CA. Franklin Emerging Market Debt Opportunity Adviser made its debut in October of 2006, and since then, FEMDX has accumulated about $36.33 million in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. Nicholas Hardingham is the fund's current manager and has held that role since June of 2014.
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 1.09%, and is in the top third among its category peers. If you're interested in shorter time frames, do not dismiss looking at the fund's 3-year annualized total return of 5.82%, which places it in the top third during this time-frame.
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. FEMDX's standard deviation over the past three years is 10.73% compared to the category average of 14.26%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 11.38% compared to the category average of 11.86%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
This fund has a beta of 0.36, meaning that it is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, FEMDX has a positive alpha of 0.39, 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, FEMDX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1% compared to the category average of 1.12%. From a cost perspective, FEMDX is actually cheaper than its peers.
This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $1 million, while there is no minimum for each subsequent investment.
Bottom Line
Overall, Franklin Emerging Market Debt Opportunity Adviser ( FEMDX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Franklin Emerging Market Debt Opportunity Adviser ( FEMDX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
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