If you have been looking for Investment Grade Bond - Intermediate funds, a place to start could be Fidelity Strategic Real Return (FSRRX). FSRRX possesses 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 FSRRX 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

Fidelity is based in Boston, MA, and is the manager of FSRRX. Fidelity Strategic Real Return made its debut in September of 2005, and since then, FSRRX has accumulated about $263.63 million in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. A team of investment professionals is the fund's current manager.

Performance

Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 5.47%, and is in the top third among its category peers. If you're interested in shorter time frames, do not dismiss looking at the fund's 3 -year annualized total return of 3.11%, 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 64%, the standard deviation of FSRRX over the past three years is 8.81%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 9.72% compared to the category average of -27%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

FSRRX carries a beta of -0.26, 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 4.92, which measures performance on a risk-adjusted basis.