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Having trouble finding a Muni - Bonds fund? American Funds High Income Municipals Bond F (ABHFX) is a potential starting point. ABHFX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
Zacks categorizes ABHFX as Muni - Bonds, which is a segment packed with options. Muni - Bonds funds invest in debt securities issued by states or local municipalities. These are generally used to finance construction of infrastructure, pay for schools, or other government functions. Some are backed by taxes (revenue bonds), while others are " general obligation " and may not be backed by a defined source. Investors usually appreciate the tax benefits that come with many municipal bonds, which are especially impressive for those in high tax brackets.
History of Fund/Manager
American Funds is based in Los Angeles, CA, and is the manager of ABHFX. The American Funds High Income Municipals Bond F made its debut in September of 1994 and ABHFX has managed to accumulate roughly $142 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund's current manager is a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. ABHFX has a 5-year annualized total return of 3.5% and it sits 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 3.25%, 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.
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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 ABHFX over the past three years is 8.36% compared to the category average of 12.7%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 7.49% compared to the category average of 12.29%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
With a beta of 0.8, this fund is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, ABHFX has a positive alpha of 2.59, 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, ABHFX has 28.5% in medium quality bonds, with ratings of 'A' to 'BBB'. The fund's junk bond component-bonds rated 'BB' or below-is at 13.1%, giving ABHFX an average quality of BBB. This means that it focuses on medium quality securities.