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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.