On the lookout for an International Bond - Developed fund? Starting with Templeton Global Bond A (TPINX) should not be a possibility at this time. TPINX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 5 (Strong Sell), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
The world of International Bond - Developed funds is an area filled with different choices, like TPINX. International Bond - Developed funds focus on fixed income securities from developed nations besides the United States. This usually results in countries like Japan, Germany, the UK, France, and Australia dominating the list of top holdings. Funds here offer geographic diversification, but they can also introduce currency risk into the picture as well.
History of Fund/Manager
Franklin is based in San Mateo, CA, and is the manager of TPINX. Templeton Global Bond A made its debut in September of 1986, and since then, TPINX has accumulated about $1.62 billion in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund's current manager, Michael Hasenstab, has been in charge of the fund since January of 2001.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. TPINX has a 5-year annualized total return of -3.73% and is in the bottom third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of -3.5%, which places it in the bottom 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. Over the past three years, TPINX's standard deviation comes in at 12.11%, compared to the category average of 13.13%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 9.6% compared to the category average of 13.84%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
TPINX carries a beta of 0.92, meaning that the fund is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. With this in mind, it has a negative alpha of -3.06, which measures performance on a risk-adjusted basis.
Ratings
Investors should also consider a bond's rating, which is a grade ( 'AAA' to 'D' ) given to a bond that indicates its credit quality. With this letter scale in mind, TPINX has 40.3% in high quality bonds rated at least 'AA' or higher, while 39.7% are of medium quality, with ratings of 'A' to 'BBB'. The fund has an average quality of A, and focuses on high quality securities.
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, TPINX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.98% compared to the category average of 0.93%. TPINX is actually more expensive than its peers when you consider factors like cost.
Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $1,000 and that each subsequent investment has no minimum amount.
Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Bottom Line
Overall, Templeton Global Bond A ( TPINX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, average downside risk, and higher fees, Templeton Global Bond A ( TPINX ) looks like a somewhat weak choice for investors right now.
For additional information on the International Bond - Developed area of the mutual fund world, make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds. There, you can see more about the ranking process, and dive even deeper into TPINX too for additional information. Zacks provides a full suite of tools to help you analyze your portfolio - both funds and stocks - in the most efficient way possible.
5 Stocks Set to Double
Each was handpicked by a Zacks expert as the #1 favorite stock to gain +100% or more in 2024. While not all picks can be winners, previous recommendations have soared +143.0%, +175.9%, +498.3% and +673.0%.
Most of the stocks in this report are flying under Wall Street radar, which provides a great opportunity to get in on the ground floor.
Today, See These 5 Potential Home Runs >>Get Your Free (TPINX): Fund Analysis Report
To read this article on Zacks.com click here.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
