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Any investors hoping to find a High Yield - Bonds fund could think about starting with Eaton Vance Floating-Rate Advantage A (EAFAX). EAFAX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
EAFAX is classified in the High Yield - Bonds segment by Zacks, an area full of investment possibilities. High Yield - Bonds funds come in below investment grade, and are referred to as " junk " bonds for this reason. Compared to their investment grade peers, these funds are at a higher default risk, but typically pay out higher yields while posing similar interest rate risks.
History of Fund/Manager
EAFAX is a part of the Eaton Vance family of funds, a company based out of Boston, MA. Eaton Vance Floating-Rate Advantage A debuted in April of 2008. Since then, EAFAX has accumulated assets of about $1.05 billion, according to the most recently available information. A team of investment professionals is the fund's current manager.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 7.58%, and is in the top 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 6.47%, 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 11.8%, the standard deviation of EAFAX over the past three years is 4.91%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 4.52% compared to the category average of 11.52%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
EAFAX carries a beta of -0.19, 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 5.83, which measures performance on a risk-adjusted basis.
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, EAFAX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1% compared to the category average of 0.97%. From a cost perspective, EAFAX is actually more expensive than its peers.