FSTYX vs SMASX Fund Comparison

A comparison between FSTYX and SMASX based on their expense ratio, growth, holdings and how well they match their benchmark performance.

Group Created with Sketch.

Minafi's Take on FSTYX vs SMASX

Here's an in depth look at the differences between Federated Short-Term Income Fund Institutional Shares ($FSTYX) and ALPS/Smith Short Duration Bond Fund Class A ($SMASX).

To start off, here's a look at the basics of each fund. Keep an eye on the FI Score. That's a custom score from 0 to 100 that we generate based on how good this fund is for the casual investor. Most investors only need a handful of total funds in their portfolio. The higher the score, the more likely this is one of those few. Score alone isn't enough! Keep reading on to see how different (or perhaps similar) these two funds are.

67% FI Score
  • fstyx
  • Mutual Fund
  • Bond
  • High Yield Bond

Federated Short-Term Income Fund Institutional Shares

Expenses: 0.37% (Better than 1% of similar funds)

This is an OK choice for a High Yield Bond Bond fund. See why »

32% FI Score
  • smasx
  • Mutual Fund
  • Bond
  • High Yield Bond

ALPS/Smith Short Duration Bond Fund Class A

Expenses: 0.74% (Better than 1% of similar funds)

This is a bad choice for a High Yield Bond Bond fund. See why »

Both $FSTYX and $SMASX are categorized as Mutual Funds. Mutual funds are often offered by 401(k) platforms and are essentially the same as ETFs. Mutual funds are generally offered by an investment platform – Fidelity has Fidelity mutual funds, Vanguard has Vanguard mutual funds. Mutual funds are ideal for retirement investing since you can invest any amount. That allows you to invest every last cent and benefit from the market.

The biggest disadvantage of mutual funds is that you're usually limited to the funds on your investment platform. If you're investing on Fidelity, you'll want to pick Fidelity mutual funds (or any ETF). Same with Vanguard. Some platforms offer mutual funds from other platforms, but they may charge a purchse or redemption fee. I'd recommend using the same platform as your funds – or stick to ETFs.

To learn more about the difference between these two, you can read about the difference between ETFs and Mutual Funds.

When evaluating a fund, the first things I look at are:

  • What it invests in
  • How much it charges in fees
  • How large the fund is

Let's look into these criteria one by one and see if either of these funds stands out.

Fund Holdings Comparison

Both of these funds are Bond High Yield Bond funds – which means they're likely both investing in about the same investments behind the scenes.

Minafi's FI Score algorithm takes into account the category and market. The more niche a fund is, the lower the score. This doesn't mean it's a worse fund, but it does mean you should stop and make sure this a fund you need to diversify your portfolio.

FSTYX SMASX
Market Score 7.7 /10 2.3 /10
Category Score 0.0 /10 0.0 /10
Total 7.7 2.3

A score of 10 means this is a solid market and category that almost every investor will want to have investments in. The lower the score, the more specific the investment. These scores are based on when most investors would add these funds to their portfolio. A score of 10 means that this fund (or one like it) belongs in a three-fund portfolio. The lower the score, the farther down in your portfolio a fund would go.

Winner: $FSTYX

Fee Comparison

Fees are one of the biggest killers of portfolio growth. The difference between a 2% fee and a 0.04% fee over 30 years can result in your portfolio having half the total value!

If you're just getting started investing and learning how fees impact your portfolio, I'd encourage you to read through my free investment course (specifically '2.2 - All About Fees') where I go over all the different types of fees you can be charged and how to lower them.

For these two funds, FSTYX has an expense ratio of 0.37% while SMASX has an expense ratio of 0.74%.

Winner: $FSTYX

Fund Size Comparison

One place these two funds differ is in their total assets under management. This is a good indication of how many other investors trust this fund. A large fund by itself doesn't mean it's a good fund, but it is one thing to consider when figuring out how to choose the right fund.

In the case of these two funds, FSTYX is a large fund with 1.57 Billion in assets under management. SMASX, on the other hand, is a small fund with 82.3 Million in assets under management.

Winner: $FSTYX, Federated Short-Term Income Fund Institutional Shares

Which Should You Choose? FSTYX or SMASX?

Since both of these funds are Bond High Yield Bond funds, you'll most likely only need to invest in one of these funds – not both. Running both of these funds through Minafi's FI Score algorithm, gives FSTYX a score of 67 and SMASX a score of 32.

Neither of these funds has an FI Score above 90 – which is a red flag. I'd look into more funds to find one with a higher FI Score.

Winner: Neither, I'd research more funds if you're looking to invest for retirement.

$FSTYX

Federated Short-Term Income Fund Institutional Shares

67

Read More
Ratings
Rating Type Rating
Expense Ratio Score 9 /10
Expense Rating 6 /10
Market Score 8 /10
Category Score 0 /10
Overview
Overview Details
Fund Type Mutual Fund
Inception Date Jul-1-1986
Exchange NMFQS
Expense Ratio 0.370%
Net Assets 1.57 Billion
Yield 2.40%
Holdings
Description Info
Market Bond
Category High Yield Bond
Sectors
  • Agency MBS ARM 0.08%
  • Agency MBS CMO 1.71%
  • Agency MBS Pass-Through 1.87%
  • Asset-Backed 43.10%
  • Bank Loan 0.55%
  • Cash & Equivalents 3.69%
  • Commercial MBS 2.48%
  • Convertible 0.68%
  • Corporate 30.03%
  • Corporate Bond 28.80%
  • Covered Bond 0.00%
  • Government 14.34%
  • Municipal 0.11%
  • Non-Agency Residential MBS 1.91%
  • Non-U.S. Government 0.00%
  • Other 0.00%
  • Other Government Related 9.49%
  • Preferred 0.00%
  • Securitized 51.35%
  • U.S. Agency 0.00%
  • U.S. Treasury 4.85%
  • U.S. Treasury Inflation-Protected 0.00%

$SMASX

ALPS/Smith Short Duration Bond Fund Class A

32

Read More
Ratings
Rating Type Rating
Expense Ratio Score 7 /10
Expense Rating 3 /10
Market Score 2 /10
Category Score 0 /10
Overview
Overview Details
Fund Type Mutual Fund
Inception Date Jun-29-2018
Exchange NMFQS
Expense Ratio 0.740%
Net Assets 82.3 Million
Yield 1.78%
Holdings
Description Info
Market Bond
Category High Yield Bond
Sectors
  • Agency MBS ARM 0.00%
  • Agency MBS CMO 7.41%
  • Agency MBS Pass-Through 5.59%
  • Asset-Backed 0.61%
  • Bank Loan 0.00%
  • Cash & Equivalents 8.16%
  • Commercial MBS 0.00%
  • Convertible 1.25%
  • Corporate 47.19%
  • Corporate Bond 45.93%
  • Covered Bond 0.00%
  • Government 31.05%
  • Municipal 0.00%
  • Non-Agency Residential MBS 0.00%
  • Non-U.S. Government 0.00%
  • Other 0.00%
  • Other Government Related 0.00%
  • Preferred 0.00%
  • Securitized 13.61%
  • U.S. Agency 0.00%
  • U.S. Treasury 31.05%
  • U.S. Treasury Inflation-Protected 0.00%

Adam says: Learn how to confidently invest for retirement!

Join the Minafi Investor Bootcamp to see how.

This 10-course bootcamp starts at only $10 for everything!

Minafi - The intersection of FI, minimalism & mindfulness.

Don't miss out on new posts, courses, interactive articles and more!

Join & Get Your First Course Free

© 2024   Adam Fortuna

Site Map
Triangle Graduation Cap Angle Down Book regular Phone laptop regular fire regular fire regular search regular Acorn duotone Seedling duotone thumbs down duo