Is ACTHX a Strong Bond Fund Right Now?
Muni - Bonds fund seekers should not consider taking a look at Invesco High Yield Municipals A (ACTHX) at this time. ACTHX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 5 (Strong Sell), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
We classify ACTHX in the Muni - Bonds category, an area rife with potential choices. Muni - Bonds funds focus their investments on debt securities issued by state and local governments. These are typically used to pay for the construction of infrastructure, the operation of public schools, and other municipal functions. These securities can come in the form of revenue bonds, which are backed by taxes, as well as "general obligation" bonds that are not backed by a defined source. Investors are usually interested that come with most municipal bonds, which can be especially important for those in higher tax brackets.
History of Fund/Manager
ACTHX is a part of the Invesco family of funds, a company based out of Kansas City, MO. The Invesco High Yield Municipals A made its debut in January of 1986 and ACTHX has managed to accumulate roughly $4.29 billion in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund's current manager is a team of investment professionals.
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 0.93%, and is in the bottom third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 4.65%, which places it in the bottom 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 ACTHX over the past three years is 7.46% compared to the category average of 9.68%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 8.44% compared to the category average of 11.44%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Bond Duration
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.
For investors who think interest rates will rise, this is an important factor to consider. ACTHX has a modified duration of 9.65, which suggests that the fund will decline 9.65% for every hundred-basis-point increase in interest rates.
Income
Since income is, of course, a big reason for purchasing a fixed income security, it is always important to consider the fund's average coupon. Average coupon is a look at the average payout by the fund in a given year. For example, this fund's average coupon of 3.02% means that a $10,000 investment should result in a yearly payout of $302.
If you are looking for a strong level of current income, a higher coupon is a good choice, though it could pose a reinvestment risk; these risks can occur 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.
ACTHX carries a beta of 0.85, meaning that the fund is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. With this in mind, it has a positive alpha of 0.25, 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, ACTHX has 17.2% in medium quality bonds, with ratings of "A" to "BBB". The fund has an average quality of BBB, and focuses on medium quality securities.However, it is worth noting that 50% of the bonds in this fund are not ranked, so take the average quality level with a bit of caution.
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, ACTHX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.36% compared to the category average of 0.92%. So, ACTHX is actually more expensive than its peers from a cost perspective.
Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $1,000; each subsequent investment needs to be at least $50.
Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into consideration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Bottom Line
Overall, Invesco High Yield Municipals A ( ACTHX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, average downside risk, and higher fees, this fund looks like a somewhat weak choice for investors right now.
Want even more information about ACTHX? 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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