Invesco Van Kampen Equity and Income A (ACEIX) Fund

Investing in balanced mutual fund is one of the easiest for investor to achieve instant portfolio diversification. This balanced fund invests in variety of assets such as equities or stocks, fixed income or bonds, preferred, convertible, and money markets or cash. One of the top moderate allocation balanced funds is Invesco Van Kampen Equity and Income fund. More review can be found below.

Invesco Van Kampen Equity and Income A (ACEIX)

The investment objective of Invesco Van Kampen Equity and Income fund is to achieve the highest possible income. The second objective is to provide long-term capital growth. The fund invests mostly in income-producing equity instruments and investment-grade quality debt securities. The income producing equity may include common stocks, preferred stocks, and convertible. This moderate allocation fund may invest <25% of total assets in securities of foreign issuers and may invest <15% of total assets in real estate investment trusts (REITs).

Dividend Growth Trust Rising Div Gr A ICRDX Mutual Fund

Investing in high dividend mutual funds can be very rewarding. These mutual funds, also known as equity income mutual funds, provide regular income for investor and they are less volatile than other funds such as growth mutual funds. One of the best high dividend mutual funds is Dividend Growth Trust Rising Div Gr fund.

Dividend Growth Trust Rising Div Gr A (ICRDX)

The Dividend Growth Trust Rising Dividend Growth fund seeks long-term capital growth and current income. The US stock mutual fund utilizes most of its assets (>80%) to buy equity securities of dividend-paying domestic and foreign companies with market capitalization >$500 million. The companies have increased their dividend payments to stockholders for each of the past 10 years or more. This equity fund will focus its investments in a group of 25-50 companies. It may invest in MLPs, REIT, and other dividend paying entities. This equity mutual fund is non-diversified.

Fund Details

Dividend Growth Trust Rising Div Gr 

• Fund Inception Date: 03/17/2004
• Ticker Symbol: ICRDX
• CUSIP: 255378101
• Beta (3yr): 0.70
• Rank in category (YTD): 98%
• Category: Large Blend
• Distribution: 1.56%
• Capital Gains: 0%
• Expense Ratio: 1.65%  
• Net Assets: $ 182.82 million
• Number of Years Up: 5 years
• Number of Years Down: 2 years
• Annual Turnover Rate: 51.85%

Updated on 2/27/2012

10 Best Diversified Bond Mutual Funds 2012

Selecting diversified bond mutual funds are essential for investors. Diversified bond mutual funds provide regular income and reduce risks associated with stock and bond market. Some of the best diversified bond mutual funds are: Scout Core Plus Bond fund, AllianceBernstein High Income fund, PIMCO Investment Grade Corporate Bond fund, etc.

Intro

Having a diversified bond mutual fund in your investment portfolio is critical during any economic period. During the uncertainty time, bond fund may provide regular income (in term of yield) and less volatility. The bond mutual fund may also provide investors with a convenient option to hold a portfolio of bonds from different sectors such as government bond, corporate bond, mortgage backed bond, foreign entities bond, convertible, etc.

Best Taxable Bond Mutual Funds

Using a bond mutual fund, investor may also reduce the investment costs compare to create a portfolio of individual bonds. The investment risks of mutual fund investment are also lower than single bond investment.

Best Bond Mutual Funds

Most of these diversified bond mutual funds are also rated among the best mutual fund by various financial website such as Money, Morningstar, US News, etc. Please check details about its expense ratio, sales load, initial investment requirement, performance, risk, top holdings, turnover rate, etc.

Top 10 Diversified Bond Mutual Funds of 2012 are:

1. Scout Core Plus Bond Y (SCPYX)
2. AllianceBernstein High Income A (AGDAX)
3. PIMCO Investment Grade Corp Bond A (PBDAX) 
4. PACE Strategic Fixed Income A (PBNAX)
5. JHancock2 Strategic Income Opportunities A (JIPAX)
6. TCW Core Fixed-Income N (TGFNX)
7. Loomis Sayles Core Plus Bond A (NEFRX) 
8. Lord Abbett Income A (LAGVX)
9. API Efficient Frontier Income A (APIUX)
10. Scout Core Bond Y (SCCYX)

Updated on 2/29/2012

Ivy High Income A (WHIAX) Fund

High Yield bond mutual funds offer higher income to investors. These high yield funds also come with higher risk since they invest in lower credit rating debts (mainly corporate bonds). One of the top high yield bond funds is Ivy High Income fund. Review of this best bond fund can be found below.

Ivy High Income A (MUTF: WHIAX)

The investment aim of this Ivy High Income fund is to provide total return through a combination of high current income and capital appreciation. This bond mutual fund invests mainly in a diversified portfolio of high-yield, high-risk, fixed-income securities, including loan participations and other loan instruments, of U.S. and foreign issuers. The fund invests primarily in lower quality debt securities (i.e. rated BBB or below by S&P).

Fund Details

Ivy High Income Fund

• Fund Inception Date: July 3, 2000
• Ticker Symbol: WHIAX
• CUSIP: 466000668
• Beta (3yr): -0.02
• Rank in category (YTD): 54%
• Category: High Yield Bond
• Distribution: 7.93%
• Capital Gains: 0%
• Expense Ratio: 1.08%  
• Net Assets: $ 3.64 billion
• Number of Years Up: 10 years
• Number of Years Down: 1 year
• Average Duration: 3.64 years
• Average Maturity: 5.15 years
• Annual Turnover Rate: 89%

Updated on 2/21/2012

Top 12 High Yield Municipal Bond Mutual Funds 2012

The best high yield muni bond funds of 2012 are: Ivy Municipal High Income A, Delaware National High-Yield Municipal Bond A, etc. These muni bond funds provide high tax free yield for investor.

Intro

There are two types of national municipal bond mutual funds: investment grade muni bond mutual funds and high yield muni bond mutual funds. These high yield municipal bond funds are very similar to regular high yield bond mutual funds. The only difference is the yield from municipal bond funds are exempted from federal income tax. Typically high yield munis also has higher yield than investment grade munis.

Top High Muni Bond Mutual Funds

According to the Moody’s study, the high yield munis has lower default rate than regular high yield corporate. High yield munis have 4.3% default rates on an annual basis and high yield corporate bonds have 32.7% per year default rates. This study was done based on 1970-2005 data.

Best High Yield Municipal Funds

These high yield municipal bond mutual funds are rated based on its performance for the past 5 years. Most of these high yield municipal funds are also rated among the best in their class. Please check details about its expense ratio, sales load, initial investment requirement, performance, risk, top holdings, turnover rate, etc.

Top 12 Best High Yield Muni Bond Mutual Funds of 2012 are:

1. Ivy Municipal High Income A (IYIAX)
2. Delaware National High-Yield Municipal Bond A (CXHYX)
3. Franklin High Yield Tax-Free Income A (FRHIX)
4. DWS Strategic High Yield Tax Free A (NOTAX)
5. Waddell & Reed Municipal High-Income A (UMUHX)
6. Legg Mason WA Muni High Income A (STXAX)
7. MFS Municipal High-Income A (MMHYX)
8. Putnam Tax-Free High Yield A (PTHAX)
9. Prudential Municipal High-Income A (PRHAX)
10. T. Rowe Price Tax-Free High-Yield (PRFHX)
11. Oppenheimer Limited Term Municipal A (OPITX)

Updated on 2/25/2012

Delaware Corporate Bond A (DGCAX) Fund

There are various taxable bond mutual funds such as corporate bond funds, U.S. Government bond funds, convertible bond funds, and hybrid taxable bond funds. One of the top corporate bond funds is Delaware Corporate Bond fund. Details are described below.

Delaware Corporate Bond A (Ticker: DGCAX)

The investment objective of this Delaware Corporate Bond fund is to provide total return. This fixed income fund generally invests >80% of assets in investment grade credit ratings corporate bonds. The average portfolio duration of the fund is comparable to the current average duration of the Barclays Capital U.S. Corporate Investment Grade Index. The fund may also invest <20% of its net assets in high yield corporate bonds and <35% of total assets in foreign bonds.

DGCAX Fund Profile

Delaware Corporate Bond fund

• Fund Inception Date: 09/15/1998
• Ticker Symbol: DGCAX (Class A)
• CUSIP: 245908785
• Beta (3yr): 1.00
• Rank in category (YTD): 20%
• Category: Intermediate-Term Bond
• Yield: 4.89%
• Net Assets: $ 952 million
• Sales Load: 4.50%
• Expense Ratio: 0.95%
• Capital Gains:  N/A
• Number of Years Up: 11 years
• Number of Years Down: 2 years
• Average Maturity: 6.77 years
• Average Duration: 11.95 years

Updated 2/5/2012

Oppenheimer Global A (OPPAX) Fund

To participate in global economy expansion, investors need to invest in world stock mutual funds. These global stock funds are investing in various part of world such as developed countries (USA, UK, France, Germany, Italy, Singapore, etc), emerging markets or developing countries (Brazil, India, Indonesia, Russia, China, etc), and frontier markets (Nigeria, Serbia, Tunisia, etc). One of the popular world stock funds is Oppenheimer Global fund.

Oppenheimer Global A (OPPAX)

The Oppenheimer Global fund uses its assets to buy common stock of U.S. and foreign companies. It can invest without limit in foreign securities and can invest in any country, including countries with developing or emerging markets. The fund currently concentrates its investments in developed markets such as the United States, Western European countries and Japan. It may invest in any capitalization range, but mainly invests in mid- and large-cap companies.