Is Franklin Income A1 (FKINX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

Any investors hoping to find a Allocation Balanced fund could think about starting with Franklin Income A1 (FKINX). FKINX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.ObjectiveThe world of Zacks' Allocation Balanced funds is an area filled with options, such as FKINX. These funds like to invest in a variety of asset types, finding a balance between stocks, bonds, cash, and sometimes even precious metals and commodities; they are mostly categorized by their respective asset allocation. For investors, Allocation Balanced funds can provide an entry point into diversified mutual funds, and present core holding options for a portfolio of funds.History of Fund/ManagerFranklin is based in San Mateo, CA, and is the manager of FKINX. The Franklin Income A1 made its debut in August of 1948 and FKINX has managed to accumulate roughly $29.09 billion in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by a team of investment professionals.PerformanceObviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 9%, and is in the middle third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 6.71%, 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. FKINX's standard deviation over the past three years is 9.1% compared to the category average of 13.52%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 9.82% compared to the category average of 13.06%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.Risk FactorsWith a 5-year beta of 0.51, the fund is likely to be less volatile than the market average. Because alpha represents a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which is the S&P 500 in this case, one should pay attention to this metric as well. With a negative alpha of -0.53, managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.ExpensesCosts are increasingly important for mutual fund investing, and particularly as competition heats up in this market. And all things being equal, a lower cost product will outperform its otherwise identical counterpart, so taking a closer look at these metrics is key for investors. In terms of fees, FKINX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.60% compared to the category average of 0.93%. FKINX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $1,000, while there is no minimum for each subsequent investment.Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into consideration. Returns would be less if those were included.Bottom LineOverall, Franklin Income A1 ( FKINX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Franklin Income A1 ( FKINX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.For additional information on this product, or to compare it to other mutual funds in the Allocation Balanced, make sure to go to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds 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.7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 DaysJust released: Experts distill 7 elite stocks from the current list of 220 Zacks Rank #1 Strong Buys. They deem these tickers "Most Likely for Early Price Pops."Since 1988, the full list has beaten the market more than 2X over with an average gain of +23.5% per year. So be sure to give these hand picked 7 your immediate attention. See them now >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Get Your Free (FKINX): Fund Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks