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High Yield - Bonds fund seekers may want to consider taking a look at Ivy High Income N (IHIFX - Free Report) . IHIFX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
We note that IHIFX is a High Yield - Bonds option, which is an area loaded with different investment choices. High Yield - Bonds funds are often known as " junk " bonds since they are below investment grade. This means they are at an elevated risk of default, at least when compared to their investment grade peers. On the plus side, junk bonds generally pay out higher yields, all while posing similar interest rate risks as we see with their investment grade counterparts.
History of Fund/Manager
Ivy Funds is based in Boca Raton, FL, and is the manager of IHIFX. Ivy High Income N debuted in July of 2014. Since then, IHIFX has accumulated assets of about $81 million, according to the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by Chad Gunther who has been in charge of the fund since July of 2014.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 3.98%, and is in the bottom third among its category peers. But if you are looking for a shorter time frame, it is also worth looking at its 3-year annualized total return of 2.08%, 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. Compared to the category average of 13.15%, the standard deviation of IHIFX over the past three years is 10.65%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 9.35% compared to the category average of 11.69%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
This fund has a beta of 0.62, meaning that it is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, IHIFX has a positive alpha of 1.93, which measures performance on a risk-adjusted basis.
Expenses
As competition heats up in the mutual fund market, costs become increasingly important. Compared to its otherwise identical counterpart, a low-cost product will be an outperformer, all other things being equal. Thus, taking a closer look at cost-related metrics is vital for investors. In terms of fees, IHIFX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.58% compared to the category average of 1.01%. So, IHIFX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.
Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $0; each subsequent investment has no minimum amount.
Bottom Line
Overall, Ivy High Income N ( IHIFX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a somewhat average choice for investors right now.
For additional information on the High Yield - Bonds area of the mutual fund world, make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds. There, you can see more about the ranking process, and dive even deeper into IHIFX too for additional information. And don't forget, Zacks has all of your needs covered on the equity side too! Make sure to check out Zacks.com for more information on our screening capabilities, Rank, and all our articles as well.
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Is IHIFX a Strong Bond Fund Right Now?
High Yield - Bonds fund seekers may want to consider taking a look at Ivy High Income N (IHIFX - Free Report) . IHIFX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
We note that IHIFX is a High Yield - Bonds option, which is an area loaded with different investment choices. High Yield - Bonds funds are often known as " junk " bonds since they are below investment grade. This means they are at an elevated risk of default, at least when compared to their investment grade peers. On the plus side, junk bonds generally pay out higher yields, all while posing similar interest rate risks as we see with their investment grade counterparts.
History of Fund/Manager
Ivy Funds is based in Boca Raton, FL, and is the manager of IHIFX. Ivy High Income N debuted in July of 2014. Since then, IHIFX has accumulated assets of about $81 million, according to the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by Chad Gunther who has been in charge of the fund since July of 2014.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 3.98%, and is in the bottom third among its category peers. But if you are looking for a shorter time frame, it is also worth looking at its 3-year annualized total return of 2.08%, 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. Compared to the category average of 13.15%, the standard deviation of IHIFX over the past three years is 10.65%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 9.35% compared to the category average of 11.69%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
This fund has a beta of 0.62, meaning that it is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, IHIFX has a positive alpha of 1.93, which measures performance on a risk-adjusted basis.
Expenses
As competition heats up in the mutual fund market, costs become increasingly important. Compared to its otherwise identical counterpart, a low-cost product will be an outperformer, all other things being equal. Thus, taking a closer look at cost-related metrics is vital for investors. In terms of fees, IHIFX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.58% compared to the category average of 1.01%. So, IHIFX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.
Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $0; each subsequent investment has no minimum amount.
Bottom Line
Overall, Ivy High Income N ( IHIFX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a somewhat average choice for investors right now.
For additional information on the High Yield - Bonds area of the mutual fund world, make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds. There, you can see more about the ranking process, and dive even deeper into IHIFX too for additional information. And don't forget, Zacks has all of your needs covered on the equity side too! Make sure to check out Zacks.com for more information on our screening capabilities, Rank, and all our articles as well.