Yahoo Finance Is SDSYX a Strong Bond Fund Right Now?
Any investors hoping to find a Mutual Fund Bond fund could think about starting with Western Asset Global Strategy Income I (SDSYX). SDSYX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
History of Fund/Manager
SDSYX is a part of the Franklin family of funds, a company based out of San Mateo, CA. Since Western Asset Global Strategy Income I made its debut in October of 1995, SDSYX has garnered more than $591 million in assets. The fund is currently managed by a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 1.07%, and is in the bottom third among its category peers. But if you are looking for a shorter time frame, it is also worth looking at its 3-year annualized total return of -1.59%, which places it in the middle 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. SDSYX's standard deviation over the past three years is 6.59% compared to the category average of 12.59%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 8.68% compared to the category average of 13.72%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
This fund has a beta of 0.44, meaning that it is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, SDSYX has a positive alpha of 1.05, 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, SDSYX 's junk bond component-bonds rated 'BB' or below-is at 69.75%. This means that the fund has an average quality of BBB, and focuses on medium quality securities.
Expenses
Costs are increasingly important for mutual fund investing, and particularly as competition heats up in this market. And all things being equal, a lower cost product will outperform its otherwise identical counterpart, so taking a closer look at these metrics is key for investors. In terms of fees, SDSYX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.63% compared to the category average of 0.75%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, SDSYX 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.
Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Bottom Line
Overall, Western Asset Global Strategy Income I ( SDSYX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, better downside risk, and lower fees, Western Asset Global Strategy Income I ( SDSYX ) looks like a great potential choice for investors right now.
For additional information on the Mutual Fund Bond area of the mutual fund world, make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds. There, you can see more about the ranking process, and dive even deeper into SDSYX too 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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