Is OIBYX a Strong Bond Fund Right Now?

Any investors hoping to find a International Bond - Developed fund could think about starting with Invesco International Bond Y (OIBYX). OIBYX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

OIBYX is one of many International Bond - Developed funds to choose from. International Bond - Developed funds offer investors geographic diversification by focusing on fixed income securities from developed nations besides the United States. Top holdings include assets from countries like Japan, Germany, the UK, France, and Australia. While these is certainly an advantage, investors should be aware of currency risk.

History of Fund/Manager

Invesco is responsible for OIBYX, and the company is based out of Kansas City, MO. Since Invesco International Bond Y made its debut in October of 2004, OIBYX has garnered more than $896.98 million in assets. A team of investment professionals is the fund's current manager.

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 0.92%, and it sits in the middle third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 8.46%, 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. Compared to the category average of 10.16%, the standard deviation of OIBYX over the past three years is 8.8%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 10.08% compared to the category average of 11.82%. 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.

If you believe interest rates will rise, this is an important factor to look at. OIBYX has a modified duration of 1.97, which suggests that the fund will decline 1.97% for every hundred-basis-point increase in interest rates.

Income

Income is often a big reason for purchasing a fixed income security, so it is 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 6.38% means that a $10,000 investment should result in a yearly payout of $638.

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. Since income is just one part of the bond picture, investors need to consider risk relative to broad benchmarks.

OIBYX carries a beta of 0.4, 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 1.29, 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, OIBYX has 32.19 in high quality bonds rated at least "AA" or higher, while 27.94% are of medium quality, with ratings of "A" to "BBB". The fund's junk bond component-bonds rated "BB" or below-is at 33.83%, giving OIBYX an average quality of A. This means that it focuses on high quality securities.

Expenses

For investors, taking a closer look at cost-related metrics is key, since costs are increasingly important for mutual fund investing. Competition is heating up in this space, and a lower cost product will likely outperform its otherwise identical counterpart, all things being equal. In terms of fees, OIBYX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.78% compared to the category average of 0.91%. OIBYX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.

While the minimum initial investment for the product is $1,000, investors should also note that each subsequent investment needs to be at least $50.

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

Bottom Line

Overall, Invesco International Bond Y ( OIBYX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a somewhat average choice for investors right now.

This could just be the start of your research on OIBYX in the International Bond - Developed 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. Want to learn even more? We have a full suite of tools on stocks that you can use to find the best choices for your portfolio too, no matter what kind of investor you are.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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