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Is Hartford Balanced Income C (HBLCX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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Looking for an Allocation Balanced fund? You may want to consider Hartford Balanced Income C (HBLCX - Free Report) as a possible option. HBLCX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
The world of Zacks' Allocation Balanced funds is an area filled with options, such as HBLCX. 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/Manager
Hartford is responsible for HBLCX, and the company is based out of Woodbury, MN. The Hartford Balanced Income C made its debut in July of 2006 and HBLCX has managed to accumulate roughly $3.05 billion in assets, as of the most recently available information. A team of investment professionals is the fund's current manager.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 7.84%, and it sits 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 6.41%, which places it in the middle 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. The standard deviation of HBLCX over the past three years is 10% compared to the category average of 14.41%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 8.31% compared to the category average of 12.01%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
With 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 -1.11, managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
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, HBLCX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.64% compared to the category average of 0.89%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, HBLCX is actually more expensive than its peers.
Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $2,000 and that each subsequent investment needs to be at $50.
Bottom Line
Overall, Hartford Balanced Income C ( HBLCX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and higher fees, Hartford Balanced Income C ( HBLCX ) looks like a somewhat average choice for investors right now.
Don't stop here for your research on Allocation Balanced funds. We also have plenty more on our site in order to help you find the best possible fund for your portfolio. Make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for more information about the world of funds, and feel free to compare HBLCX to its peers as well 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 Hartford Balanced Income C (HBLCX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
Looking for an Allocation Balanced fund? You may want to consider Hartford Balanced Income C (HBLCX - Free Report) as a possible option. HBLCX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
The world of Zacks' Allocation Balanced funds is an area filled with options, such as HBLCX. 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/Manager
Hartford is responsible for HBLCX, and the company is based out of Woodbury, MN. The Hartford Balanced Income C made its debut in July of 2006 and HBLCX has managed to accumulate roughly $3.05 billion in assets, as of the most recently available information. A team of investment professionals is the fund's current manager.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 7.84%, and it sits 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 6.41%, which places it in the middle 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. The standard deviation of HBLCX over the past three years is 10% compared to the category average of 14.41%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 8.31% compared to the category average of 12.01%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
With 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 -1.11, managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
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, HBLCX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.64% compared to the category average of 0.89%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, HBLCX is actually more expensive than its peers.
Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $2,000 and that each subsequent investment needs to be at $50.
Bottom Line
Overall, Hartford Balanced Income C ( HBLCX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and higher fees, Hartford Balanced Income C ( HBLCX ) looks like a somewhat average choice for investors right now.
Don't stop here for your research on Allocation Balanced funds. We also have plenty more on our site in order to help you find the best possible fund for your portfolio. Make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for more information about the world of funds, and feel free to compare HBLCX to its peers as well 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.