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If you've been stuck searching for Mutual Fund Bond funds, consider The Osterweis Strategic Income Fund (OSTIX) as a possibility. OSTIX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
History of Fund/Manager
Osterweis is based in San Francisco, CA, and is the manager of OSTIX. The The Osterweis Strategic Income Fund made its debut in August of 2002 and OSTIX has managed to accumulate roughly $4.75 billion in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund's current manager is a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. OSTIX has a 5-year annualized total return of 2.32% 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 1.49%, which places it in the top third during this time-frame.
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. OSTIX's standard deviation over the past three years is 6.48% compared to the category average of 9.37%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 5.28% compared to the category average of 7.76%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
This fund has a beta of 0.22, meaning that it is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, OSTIX has a positive alpha of 1.43, which measures performance on a risk-adjusted basis.
Expenses
As competition heats up in the mutual fund market, costs become increasingly important. Compared to its otherwise identical counterpart, a low-cost product will be an outperformer, all other things being equal. Thus, taking a closer look at cost-related metrics is vital for investors. In terms of fees, OSTIX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.84% compared to the category average of 0.83%. OSTIX is actually more expensive than its peers when you consider factors like cost.
This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $5,000, and each subsequent investment should be at least $100.
Bottom Line
Overall, The Osterweis Strategic Income Fund ( OSTIX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and higher fees, The Osterweis Strategic Income Fund ( OSTIX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.