Any investors hoping to find an Investment Grade Bond - Intermediate fund could think about starting with USAA Income Fund (USAIX). USAIX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

We note that USAIX is an Investment Grade Bond - Intermediate option, which is a segment loaded with many different investment options. By targeting bonds that mature in more than three years but less than 15 years, Investment Grade Bond - Intermediate funds are a middle of the curve option. Fixed income instruments at this maturity level usually have medium duration risk, but their yields are respectable, especially in comparison to their short-maturity counterparts. Additionally, a focus on investment grade makes these funds safer, but yields tend to be lower than in the junk bond category.

History of Fund/Manager

USAIX is a part of the Victory family of funds, a company based out of Columbus, OH. USAA Income Fund made its debut in March of 1974, and since then, USAIX has accumulated about $2.04 billion in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund is currently managed by a team of investment professionals.

Performance

Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. USAIX has a 5-year annualized total return of 0.96% and it sits 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 -1.25%, which places it in the top 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. Compared to the category average of 12.59%, the standard deviation of USAIX over the past three years is 7.29%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 7.09% compared to the category average of 13.03%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

USAIX carries a beta of 0.86, meaning that the fund is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. With this in mind, it has a positive alpha of 1.24, which measures performance on a risk-adjusted basis.