Top 12 Best Diversified National Municipal Bond Mutual Funds 2012

Buying muni bond mutual fund can provide instant diversification for investor assets. Typically, these municipal bond mutual funds are less risky too. The following top ranked national municipal bond mutual funds of 2012 are: Legg Mason WA Managed Municipals A, First Investors Tax-Exempt II A, Lord Abbett Intermediate Tax Free A, etc.

Best Muni Bond Mutual Funds 2012

Intro

In general, investors like tax free income. We can find tax free benefits through Roth IRAs. After many of us max out our Roth contribution and employer 401k or traditional IRA accounts, we can start choosing municipal bonds to invest to get the same benefit. One of the best feature of this muni bond is the income from the bond is exempted from federal income tax.

One would ask how I can invest in municipal bonds. You can choose to buy individual municipal bonds, muni bond mutual funds, municipal bond closed end funds, or muni bond ETF. This article will focus on best muni bond mutual funds of 2012.

Best Municipal Bond Funds

These best performing funds are rated based on its 5 years performance. I have included a short review of these funds for your interest. The data include fund performance, fund manager, dividend yield, top holding, top sector, fund ranking, etc.

The Top 12 Best National Municipal Bond Mutual Funds of 2012 are:

1. Legg Mason Western Asset Managed Municipals A (SHMMX)
2. First Investors Tax-Exempt II A (EIITX)
3. Lord Abbett Intermediate Tax Free A (LISAX)
4. State Farm Tax Advantaged Bond A (TANAX)
5. Waddell & Reed Municipal Bond A (UNMBX)
6. Virtus Tax-Exempt Bond A (HXBZX)
7. RidgeWorth Investment Grade Tax-Exempt Bond A (SISIX)
8. Nuveen All-American Municipal Bond A (FLAAX)
9. RidgeWorth High Grade Municipal Bond A (SFLTX)
10. BlackRock Intermediate Municipal Investor A (MEMTX)
11. Wells Fargo Advantage Municipal Bond Investor (SXFIX)
12. Invesco Tax-Free Intermediate A (ATFAX)

Updated on 2/20/2012

MFS Bond A (MFBFX) Fund

Bond Mutual Funds have achieved better result than stock mutual funds for the past decade. Finding the right bond funds to invest is important for investor. MFS Bond fund is considered as one of the top bond mutual funds.

MFS Bond A (MUTF: MFBFX)

The investment aim of this MFS Bond fund is to seek total return with an emphasis on current income. The secondary objective is capital appreciation. This bond mutual fund invests majority of net assets (>80%) in corporate debt instruments. It may also invest in other types of debt instruments, lower quality debt instruments, foreign securities, and emerging market securities.

Fund Details

• Inception Date: 05/08/1974
• Ticker Symbol: MFBFX
• CUSIP: 55272P208
• Beta (3yr): 0.87
• Rank in category (YTD): 10%
• Category: Intermediate-Term Bond
• Distribution: 5.25%
• Capital Gains: 0%
• Expense Ratio: 0.85%  
• Net Assets: $ 1.97 billion
• Number of Years Up: 33 years
• Number of Years Down: 4 years
• Average Duration: 5.50 years
• Average Maturity: 8.60 years
• Annual Turnover Rate: 58.00%

Updated on 2/18/2012

First Eagle Gold A (SGGDX) Fund

For the past 3 years, precious metals have managed to achieve outstanding performance. Many analysts have predicted year 2012 will be another good year for investors. As part of basic materials sector, precious metals include gold, silver, platinum, palladium, etc. To invest in these precious metals, investor can choose mutual funds. One of the top equity precious metals funds is First Eagle Gold fund.

First Eagle Gold A (MUTF: SGGDX)

First Eagle Gold A

The investment objective of First Eagle Gold fund is to provide long-term growth of capital by investing in gold investment for a portion of their overall portfolio. This equity fund typically invests majority of total assets (>80%) in gold or stocks directly related to gold or companies mainly engaged in the gold industry. It may invest <20% of assets in equity and, to a limited extent, debt securities unrelated to gold or the gold industry. This fund is considered as a non-diversified mutual fund.

Fund Profile

• Fund Inception Date: 08/31/1993
• Ticker Symbol: SGGDX
• CUSIP: 32008F408
• Beta (3yr): 0.83
• Rank in category (2011): 2%
• Category: Equity Precious Metals
• Yield: 1.31%
• Capital Gains:  $0.8960 (2011)
• Number of Years Up: 11 years
• Number of Years Down: 7 years
• Total Net Assets: $3.11 Billion

Updated on 1/24/2012

Best Performer Growth Stock Mutual Funds 2012

Using mutual fund, you may be able to reduce the risk of investing in growth stock. Some research also has shown a focused growth stock funds may outperform other classes of funds such as value stock funds or blend stock fund. The top performer list includes Reynolds Blue Chip Growth, Brown Capital Management Small Company, Wells Fargo Advantage Growth, etc.

Top Growth Funds of 2012

These growth stock funds usually focus on capital appreciation. There is usually very little or no dividend that is distributed by these growth funds. Investing in mutual funds also can provide less risk hence the portfolio is diversified with variety of growth stocks.

Top Growth Funds

The following top performer funds list has been compiled by sorting through its performance for the past 5 years. Most of these growth equity funds are also rated among the best in their category. I have provided each of these top performing fund review such as initial investment requirement, fund manager, its performance, sales load, expense ratio,  risk, top sectors, rating, top holdings, etc. The top performer funds include three categories: large growth, mid-cap growth, and small growth. Most of the assets are invested in US companies stocks.

Based on five year performance, the 10 Top Performer Growth Stock Mutual Funds of 2012 are:

1. Reynolds Blue Chip Growth (RBCGX)
2. Brown Capital Management Small Company Inv (BCSIX)
3. Wells Fargo Advantage Growth Inv (SGROX)
4. Brown Capital Management Mid-Cap Inv (BCMSX)
5. Marsico Flexible Capital (MFCFX)
6. Integrity Williston Basin/Mid-North America Stock A (ICPAX)
7. Monetta Young Investor (MYIFX)
8. Eaton Vance Atlanta Capital SMID-Cap A (EAASX)
9. Rydex S&P MidCap 400 Pure Growth A (RYMGX)
10. Janus Triton D (JANIX)

Updated on 2/16/2012

Prudential High-Yield A (PBHAX) Fund

One of the great features of high yield bond fund is it provides high yield of income to investors. This high yield can be great incentive for investors who seek consistent income stream. One of this top rated high yield bond funds is Prudential High-Yield fund. This fixed income fund has a yield of 7.61%. This dividend yield is paid monthly. More review about this fund can be found below.

Prudential High Yield A (PBHAX)

This Prudential High Yield fund invests mainly in a diversified portfolio of high-yield fixed-income securities rated Ba or lower by Moody’s or BB or lower by Standard & Poor’s. The fund management may also invest in bond with comparable quality (i.e. junk bonds).

Fund Profile

Prudential High Yield

• Fund Inception Date: 01/22/1990
• Ticker Symbol: PBHAX (Class A)
• CUSIP: 74440Y108
• Beta (3yr): -0.20
• Rank in category (2011): 19%
• Category: High Yield Bond
• Distribution: 7.58%
• Net Assets: $ 2 Billion
• Sales Load: 4.5%
• Expense Ratio: 0.88%
• Capital Gains:  N/A
• Number of Years Up: 15 years
• Number of Years Down: 6 years
• Average Maturity: 4.3 years
• Average Duration: 3.3 years

Updated on 2/9/2011

Burnham Fund (BURHX)

The following is the review of Burnham fund. This stock fund is recognized as the top rated U.S. stock fund by Morningstar and Lipper Rating. It invests in large companies’ stocks or blue chip companies. More details can be found below.

Burnham A (Ticker: BURHX)

This Burnham fund invests in a diverse portfolio primarily consisting of common stocks. It invests in large-capitalization stocks (Market cap >$11 billion). These companies are known as blue chip companies and are usually well-established companies. Under typical market conditions, the fund intends to remain fully invested with only minimal investments in cash or short- term debt instruments.

Fund Profile

Burnham A fund profile

• Fund Inception Date: 06/16/1975
• Ticker Symbol: BURHX (Class A)
• CUSIP: 122315203
• Beta (3yr): 0.82
• Rank in category (2011): 5%
• Category: Large Blend
• Yield: 0.0%
• Net Assets: $ 101 Million
• Sales Load: 5.00%
• Expense Ratio: 1.51%
• Capital Gains: N/A
• Number of Years Up: 29 years
• Number of Years Down: 7 years

Updated on 2/11/2012

Top 10 Best High Yield Bond Mutual Funds 2012

High Yield bond mutual funds offer an attractive valuation for investors. It also provides higher income. This fund typically has a higher risk profile than investment grade bond fund. Some of the best high yield bond mutual funds are: PIA High Yield Investor, Ivy High Income, Neuberger Berman High Income Bond Inv, etc.

Top High Yield Bond funds

Intro

High yield bonds can provide investors a reasonable amount of risk in search of high income levels. This type of bonds mostly represents corporate bonds with low ratings (i.e. non-investment grade or junk rating). Mutual funds are the best option to invest in these instruments. By investing in a well-diversified portfolio of mutual fund, investors may successfully lower the associated risk.

Best Performers

The following list has been compiled by sorting through its performance for the past 5 years. Most of these High Yield Bond funds are also rated among the best in their class. Please check details about its performance, expense ratio, sales load, initial investment requirement, risk, top holdings, etc.

Based on 5 years performance, Top 10 Best High Yield Bond Mutual Funds of 2012 are:

1. PIA High Yield Investor (PHYSX)
2. Ivy High Income A (WHIAX)
3. Neuberger Berman High Inc Bond Inv (NHINX)
4. PACE High Yield A (PHIAX)
5. TIAA-CREF High-Yield Retail (TIYRX)
6. Allianz AGIC High Yield Bond A (AYBAX)
7. Metropolitan West High Yield Bond M (MWHYX)
8. Touchstone High Yield Y (THYYX)
9. Fidelity Capital & Income (FAGIX)
10. Fifth Third High Yield Bond A (FTYAX)

Updated on 2/8/2012