June 25, 2012

YTD Worst Performer Bond Mutual Funds in 2012

This post is about worst performer bond mutual funds including taxable and municipal bond funds. The worst performers are YieldQuest Total Return Bond, Federated Municipal Ultrashort, etc. You can find the fund review below.

These worst performer bond funds are sorted based on its year to date performance up to June 24, 2012. You can find the worst performer for taxable bond fund and municipal bond fund. You will also get the fund details such as top holdings, fund manager, sales load, yield, expense ratio, etc.
Worst Performer Bond Mutual Funds 2012 logo
Taxable Bond Mutual Funds

These taxable bond mutual funds can invest in corporate bond, U.S. treasury, emerging market bond, international bond, and government bond. They can be categorized as intermediate term bond, high yield bond, world bond, emerging market bond, government bond, etc.

The YTD worst performer taxable bond mutual funds of 2012 are:
  1. YieldQuest Total Return Bond Inv (YTRIX)
  2. Capstone Church Capital (XCBFX)
  3. Guggenheim Long Short Interest Rate Strategy A (RYBSX)
  4. American Independence Absolute Return Bull/Bear Bond A (AABBX)
  5. Federated Prudent DollarBear A (PSAFX)
  6. Steel Path MLP and Infrastructure Debt A (MLPUX)
  7. American Independence Active Interest Rate Management A (AATMX)
  8. Brown Advisory Tactical Bond Advisor (BATBX)
  9. Northern Global Fixed Income (NOIFX)
  10. BlackRock International Bond Inv A (BIIAX)

June 24, 2012

YTD Worst Performer Stock Mutual Funds of 2012

This article provides the YTD worst performer stock mutual funds including domestic stock fund and international stock fund. The worst performers are Westcore Select, The USX China A, etc. The following is the fund review details.
year-to-date Worst Performer Stock Mutual Funds of 2012 logo
These worst performer funds are sorted based on its year to date performance up to June 24, 2012. You can find the worst performer for U.S. domestic stock fund and international stock fund. You will also get the fund details such as fund performance, fund manager, yield, expense ratio, etc.

Domestic Stock Mutual Funds

Domestic stock mutual funds invest mainly in U.S. companies’ stocks. There are various domestic stock funds. They are large blend, large growth, large value, mid cap value, mid cap blend, mid cap growth, small blend, small value, small growth, technology, sector funds, etc.

The YTD worst performer domestic stock mutual funds of 2012 are:
  1. Integrity Williston Basin/Mid-North America Stock A (ICPAX)
  2. Nysa (NYSAX)
  3. Westcore Select (WTSLX)
  4. ING Value Choice A (PAVAX)
  5. Pacific Advisors Mid Cap Value A (PAMVX)
  6. Nuveen Tradewinds Value Opportunities A (NVOAX)
  7. Cambiar Aggressive Value Investor (CAMAX)
  8. Huntington Technical Opportunities A (HTOAX)
  9. WesMark Small Company Growth (WMKSX)
  10. Allianz AGIC Focused Opportunity A (AFOAX)
1. Integrity Williston Basin/Mid-North America Stock A (ICPAX)

The Integrity Williston Basin/Mid-North America Stock is rated with 2 star rating. The fund objective is to provide long term capital growth. It invests in foreign and domestic companies stocks. It has an expense ratio of 1.42%. The total assets are $451 million. The sales load is 5%.

This fund has a year to date return of -16.79%. The annualized 5 year return is 3.02%. You can buy this mid-cap growth stock fund with $1,000 initial investment. The top 2 holdings are National Oilwell Varco Inc, and Kodiak Oil & Gas Corp.

June 22, 2012

Best No Load Moderate Allocation Balanced Mutual Funds 2012

The best moderate allocation balanced mutual funds of 2012 are RiverNorth Core Opportunity, Intrepid Capital, FBR Balanced fund, etc. You can find these top funds review in this post.

Top 6 Moderate Allocation Mutual FundsIntroduction

As we know, there are 4 main balanced mutual funds. They are aggressive allocation, moderate allocation, conservative allocation, and world allocation. The moderate allocation fund typically has higher assets in stocks or equities (about 50%-70%). The rest of assets are invested in bonds or fixed income & cash.

Top moderate allocation funds

These top moderate allocation balanced funds are selected based on its long term performance. All of these mutual funds don’t have a sales load. You can find the fund review and other fund information below such as the track record, expense ratio, fund manager, top holdings, etc.

The 6 best no load moderate allocation balanced mutual funds of 2012 are:
  1. RiverNorth Core Opportunity (RNCOX)
  2. Intrepid Capital (ICMBX)
  3. Villere Balanced Inv (VILLX)
  4. ASTON/Montag & Caldwell Balanced N (MOBAX)
  5. FBR Balanced Investor (AFSAX)
  6. Buffalo Flexible Income (BUFBX)

June 21, 2012

Legg Mason Western Assets Managed Municipals SHMMX Fund

One of top muni bond mutual funds is Legg Mason Western Assets Managed Municipals fund. This fixed income fund is classified as muni national long bond fund. It also has a tax free yield of 4.28%.

Legg Mason Western Assets Managed Municipals A (SHMMX)

The investment objective of Legg Mason Western Assets Managed Municipals fund is to maximize current interest income that is exempted from gross income for regular federal income tax purposes with consistent prudent investment management and to achieve capital preservation. This bond mutual fund invests >80% of assets in intermediate-term and long-term municipal securities with maturities from 1 to >30 years at the time of purchase.

Fund Details
SHMMX fund
  • Fund Inception Date: March 4, 1981
  • Ticker Symbol: SHMMX
  • CUSIP: 52469J202
  • Beta (3yr): 1.28
  • Rank in category (YTD): 21%
  • Category: Muni National Long
  • Distribution Rate: 4.28%
  • Capital Gains: 0%
  • Expense Ratio: 0.64%

June 19, 2012

Best No Load Retirement Income Balanced Mutual Funds 2013

The best no load retirement income balanced mutual funds for 2013 are American Beacon Retire Income & Appreciation, Vanguard Target Retirement Income fund, T. Rowe Price Retirement Income, etc.

Top Retirement Income Funds

Retirement income mutual funds are part of target date balanced funds. Retirement income funds offer a combination of equities, fixed income securities, and cash equivalent for investors already in or entering retirement age. The funds are managed based on a conservative asset allocation strategy. This means this fund may hold higher portion of assets in bonds and short term cash.

Best No Load Retirement Income Balanced Mutual Funds 2013The following top retirement income funds are chosen based on its long term track record. It also doesn’t have a sales load or transaction fee. You can buy this fund through your brokerage such as Scottrade, Fidelity, Vanguard, Schwab, JPMorgan, etc. I also provide the fund review below. Most of these funds are affordable among many investors due to low initial investment requirement.

The 6 Best No Load Retirement Income Balanced Mutual Funds for 2013 are:
  1. American Beacon Retire Income & Appreciation Inv (AANPX)
  2. Vanguard Target Retirement Income Inv (VTINX)
  3. American Century LIVESTRONG Inc Inv (ARTOX)
  4. T. Rowe Price Retirement Income (TRRIX)
  5. Fidelity Freedom Income (FFFAX)
  6. Vantagepoint Milestone Retirement Income (VPRRX)

American Beacon Retirement Income & Appreciation (AANPX)

This American Beacon Retirement Income and Appreciation fund objective is to provide income and capital appreciation. It uses its assets to purchase investment grade bonds, convertible and non-convertible securities, and stocks. The sub-advisors are Aerican Beacon Advisors, Inc and Calamos Advisors LLC. Its dividend yield is 2.32%. The annual expense ratio is 1.1%.

The fund’s assets are allocated as follow: fixed income (78.1%), convertible obligations (12.2%), equity (6.1%), and cash equivalent (3.6%). For the fixed income portion, it has weighted average maturity of 6.8 years. Morningstar ranks this balanced fund with 3 stars. It has a 5 years annualized return of 5.38%.

Vanguard Target Retirement Income (Ticker: VTINX)

The Vanguard Target Retirement Income fund invests majority of its assets in other Vanguard mutual funds based on an asset allocation strategy designed for retiree. Duane F. Kelly is the fund manager since 2003. This no load target date mutual fund has a yield of 2.53%. The total net assets are $8.5 billion. Its expense ratio is only 0.17% per year.

You can buy this gold rated retirement income fund with $1,000 initial investment. The fund has an investment style of large blend. As of June 2012, the top 5 holdings are Vanguard Total Bond Market II Index, Vanguard Total Stock Market Index, Vanguard Inflation-Protected Securities, Vanguard Total International Stock Index, and Vanguard Prime Money Market.

American Century LIVESTRONG Income (ARTOX)

The investment aim of American Century LIVESTRONG Income fund is to seek income and capital growth through investment in other American Century mutual funds. It has $372 million of total assets. It also has an above average expense ratio fee of 0.75%. It opens to new investors.

This best retirement income mutual fund has returned 4.18% over the past 1 year, 9.65% over the past 3 year, and 3.43% over the past 5 year. The year-to-date return is 3.78%.

T. Rowe Price Retirement Income (MUTF: TRRIX)

This T. Rowe Price Retirement Income fund is ranked with gold rating by Morningstar. It has $2.6 billion of total assets. It utilizes its assets to buy other T. Rowe Price stock and bond funds depending upon its asset allocation. The expense ratio is 0.56%. Its annual holding turnover rate is 12.5%.

This retirement income fund has an average 3 year return of 8.89%. As of June 2012, the top 5 sectors are technology, financial services, industrials, consumer cyclical, and energy. The top 3 funds in its portfolio are T Rowe Price Inflation Focused Bond (29.68%), T Rowe Price Equity Index 500 (24.33%), and T Rowe Price New Income (17.91%).

Fidelity Freedom Income (FFFAX)

Fidelity Freedom Income FundThis Fidelity Freedom Income fund objective is to achieve high income and capital growth. It utilizes its assets to purchase a mix of Fidelity domestic equity funds, international equity funds, bond funds, and short-term funds. The fund managers are Chris Sharpe and Andrew Dierdorf. The distribution yield is 1.59%. Its investment style is large growth. The fund’s CUSIP number is 31617R308.

This 3 star rated retirement income balanced fund has its 1 year best total return in 2009 with 16.12%. The fund has returned 7.16% over the past 3 year, and 4.04% over the past decade.

Vantagepoint Milestone Retirement Income (VPRRX)

The Vantagepoint Milestone Retirement Income fund has an expense ratio of 0.85%. The holding turnover rate is 19%. Its yield is 1.85%. This best balanced fund is managed by Lee Trenum, Wayne Wicker, and David J. Braverman.

As of June 2012, the 3 year beta risk is 0.50. The top 3 sectors are financial services, industrials, and technology.

Disclosure: No Position

Fund Performance
NoFund DescriptionTickerExpensesYTD Return %1 Year Return %3 Year Return %5 Year Return %10 Year Return %
1American Beacon Retire Income & Appreciation AANPXLow2.25%3.03%6.86%5.38%-
2Vanguard Target Retirement Income VTINXAverage3.15%5.30%9.17%4.93%-
3American Century LIVESTRONG Inc ARTOXAbove Average3.78%4.18%9.65%3.43%-
4T. Rowe Price Retirement Income TRRIXAbove Average3.16%1.56%8.89%3.13%-
5Fidelity Freedom IncomeFFFAXLow2.43%2.04%7.16%3.11%4.04%
6Vantagepoint Milestone Retirement Income VPRRXBelow Average2.36%2.22%6.98%2.99%-

June 18, 2012

American Funds AMCAP A (AMCPX) Fund

As one of the largest mutual funds family, American Funds provide wide selection of mutual funds. One of the top rated and popular mutual funds is American Funds AMCAP A fund. This fund is part of large growth US stock mutual fund. It invests in US companies with great growth potential. More fund review can be found below.

American Funds AMCAP A (AMCPX)

The investment objective of this American Funds AMCAP fund is to achieve long-term capital growth. This fund utilizes its assets to purchase U.S. companies common stocks with solid long-term growth records and the potential for good future growth. This fund uses a team of fund advisors to manage its assets.

Fund Profile
  • Fund Inception Date: May 1, 1967
  • Ticker Symbol: AMCPX
  • CUSIP: 023375108
  • Beta (3yr): 1.06
  • Rank in category (YTD): 79%
  • Category: Large Growth
  • Distribution Rate: 0.35%

June 17, 2012

YTD Best Performing Closed End Funds June 2012

The Year-To-Date best performing closed end funds up until June 15, 2012 are Firsthand Technology Value, Thai Capital Fund, Nuveen Mortgage Opportunity Term, PIMCO Municipal Income, etc.

year-to-date top performer closed-end fund 2012 logoIntro

One of the investment funds is closed end fund or CEF. A closed-end fund is traded like stock in a stock exchange such as NYSE or the NASDAQ. It consists of a variety of securities such as stocks, bonds, and combination between the two.

The following article is about the top performer for domestic stock CEF, international stock CEF, taxable bond fund, and municipal bond fund. They may include sector equity, preferred stock, option strategy, growth fund, emerging markets stock, global stock, high yield, mortgage bond, bank loan, tax free municipal.

Top Stock CEF’s

YTD Best performer general equity closed end funds of June 2012 are:
  1. Firsthand Technology Value (SVVC) - 26.80%
  2. Nuveen Tax-Advantage Float Rate (JFP) - 26.59%
  3. H&Q Life Sciences Investors (HQL) - 26.25%
  4. Diamond Hill Financial Trends (DHFT) - 20.92%
  5. First Trust Specialty Finance & Financial Opportunities (FGB) - 20.36%
  6. Alpine Global Premier Property (AWP) - 20.18%
  7. H&Q Healthcare Investors (HQH) - 18.8%
  8. Cohen & Steers Quality Income Realty (RQI) - 18.61%
  9. Cohen & Steers Select Preferred & Income (PSF) - 17.83%
  10. Cornerstone Strategy Value (CLM) - 17.82%

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