Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Is Hartford Healthcare Fund HLS IA (HIAHX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

Read MoreHide Full Article

Looking for a Mutual Fund Equity Report fund? You may want to consider Hartford Healthcare Fund HLS IA (HIAHX - Free Report) as a possible option. HIAHX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

History of Fund/Manager

Hartford is based in Woodbury, MN, and is the manager of HIAHX. Hartford Healthcare Fund HLS IA made its debut in December of 2001, and since then, HIAHX has accumulated about $145.72 million in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. A team of investment professionals is the fund's current manager.

Performance

Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 11.51%, 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 12.95%, which places it in the top 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 HIAHX over the past three years is 17.11% compared to the category average of 16.58%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 16.52% compared to the category average of 15.34%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

Investors should not forget about beta, an important way to measure a mutual fund's risk compared to the market as a whole. HIAHX has a 5-year beta of 0.88, which means it is likely to be less volatile than the market average. Another factor to consider is alpha, as it reflects a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark-in this case, the S&P 500. HIAHX has generated a negative alpha over the past five years of -1.36, demonstrating that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

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, HIAHX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.91% compared to the category average of 1.30%. From a cost perspective, HIAHX is actually cheaper than its peers.

Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $0 and that each subsequent investment has no minimum amount.

Bottom Line

Overall, Hartford Healthcare Fund HLS IA ( HIAHX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Hartford Healthcare Fund HLS IA ( HIAHX ) looks like a somewhat average choice for investors right now.

Your research on the Mutual Fund Equity Report segment doesn't have to stop here. You can check out all the great mutual fund tools we have to offer by going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds to see the additional features we offer as well for additional information. For analysis of the rest of your portfolio, make sure to visit Zacks.com for our full suite of tools which will help you investigate all of your stocks and funds in one place.


See More Zacks Research for These Tickers


Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:


Hartford Healthcare HLS IA (HIAHX) - free report >>

Published in