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High Yield - Bonds fund seekers should not consider taking a look at Ivy High Income A (WHIAX - Free Report) at this time. WHIAX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 5 (Strong Sell), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
WHIAX is part of the High Yield - Bonds section, which is a segment that boasts many possible options. Often referred to as " junk " bonds, High Yield - Bonds funds sit below investment grade, meaning they are at a high default risk compared to their investment grade peers. However, one advantage to junk bonds is that they generally pay out higher yields while posing similar interest rate risks to their investment grade counterparts.
History of Fund/Manager
WHIAX is a part of the Ivy Funds family of funds, a company based out of Boca Raton, FL. Ivy High Income A made its debut in September of 2003, and since then, WHIAX has accumulated about $1.87 billion in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund's current manager, Chad Gunther, has been in charge of the fund since July of 2014.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 1.96%, and it sits in the bottom 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 0.11%, which places it in the bottom third during this time-frame.
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. WHIAX's standard deviation over the past three years is 10.27% compared to the category average of 12.08%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 9.14% compared to the category average of 11.05%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
WHIAX carries a beta of 0.54, 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 0.37, which measures performance on a risk-adjusted basis.
Expenses
Costs 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, WHIAX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.96% compared to the category average of 1.02%. WHIAX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.
Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $750; each subsequent investment has no minimum amount.
Bottom Line
Overall, Ivy High Income A ( WHIAX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a somewhat weak choice for investors right now.
Want even more information about WHIAX? Then go over to Zacks.com and check out our mutual fund comparison tool, and all of the other great features that we have to help you with your mutual fund analysis 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.
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Is WHIAX a Strong Bond Fund Right Now?
High Yield - Bonds fund seekers should not consider taking a look at Ivy High Income A (WHIAX - Free Report) at this time. WHIAX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 5 (Strong Sell), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
WHIAX is part of the High Yield - Bonds section, which is a segment that boasts many possible options. Often referred to as " junk " bonds, High Yield - Bonds funds sit below investment grade, meaning they are at a high default risk compared to their investment grade peers. However, one advantage to junk bonds is that they generally pay out higher yields while posing similar interest rate risks to their investment grade counterparts.
History of Fund/Manager
WHIAX is a part of the Ivy Funds family of funds, a company based out of Boca Raton, FL. Ivy High Income A made its debut in September of 2003, and since then, WHIAX has accumulated about $1.87 billion in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund's current manager, Chad Gunther, has been in charge of the fund since July of 2014.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 1.96%, and it sits in the bottom 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 0.11%, which places it in the bottom third during this time-frame.
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. WHIAX's standard deviation over the past three years is 10.27% compared to the category average of 12.08%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 9.14% compared to the category average of 11.05%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
WHIAX carries a beta of 0.54, 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 0.37, which measures performance on a risk-adjusted basis.
Expenses
Costs 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, WHIAX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.96% compared to the category average of 1.02%. WHIAX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.
Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $750; each subsequent investment has no minimum amount.
Bottom Line
Overall, Ivy High Income A ( WHIAX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a somewhat weak choice for investors right now.
Want even more information about WHIAX? Then go over to Zacks.com and check out our mutual fund comparison tool, and all of the other great features that we have to help you with your mutual fund analysis 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.