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Is Hartford Small Company HLS IA (HIASX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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Small Cap Growth fund seekers should consider taking a look at Hartford Small Company HLS IA (HIASX - Free Report) . HIASX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
HIASX is part of the Small Cap Growth category, and this segment boasts an array of many other possible options. Small Cap Growth mutual funds usually focus their portfolios on stocks with large growth opportunities and a market cap of under $2 billion. These portfolios tend to feature small companies in up-and-coming industries and markets.
History of Fund/Manager
Hartford is responsible for HIASX, and the company is based out of Woodbury, MN. Hartford Small Company HLS IA debuted in December of 2001. Since then, HIASX has accumulated assets of about $547.28 million, according to the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by Steven C. Angeli who has been in charge of the fund since December of 2001.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 8.86%, 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 17.13%, 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. Compared to the category average of 13.49%, the standard deviation of HIASX over the past three years is 17.71%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 17.72% compared to the category average of 13.17%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
One cannot ignore the volatility of this segment, however, as it is always important for investors to remember the downside to any potential investment. HIASX lost 52.69% in the most recent bear market and outperformed comparable funds by 0%. This could mean that the fund is an on par choice than comparable funds during a bear market.
Nevertheless, with a 5-year beta of 1.27, the fund is likely to be more 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. HIASX has generated a negative alpha over the past five years of -3.7, demonstrating that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
Holdings
Examining the equity holdings of a mutual fund is also a valuable exercise. This can show us how the manager is applying their stated methodology, as well as if there are any inherent biases in their approach. For this particular fund, the focus is principally on equities that are traded in the United States.
Right now, 91.9% of this mutual fund's holdings are stocks, which have an average market capitalization of $4.25 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
Technology
Health
Other
Finance
Turnover is about 68%, so those in charge of the fund make more traders than comparable funds in a given year.
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, HIASX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.79% compared to the category average of 1.26%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, HIASX is actually cheaper than its peers.
This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $0, while there is no minimum for each subsequent investment.
Bottom Line
Overall, Hartford Small Company HLS IA ( HIASX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Hartford Small Company HLS IA ( HIASX ) looks like a great potential choice for investors right now.
For additional information on this product, or to compare it to other mutual funds in the Small Cap Growth, make sure to go to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for additional information. If you want to check out our stock reports as well, make sure to go to Zacks.com to see all of the great tools we have to offer, including our time-tested Zacks Rank.
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Is Hartford Small Company HLS IA (HIASX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
Small Cap Growth fund seekers should consider taking a look at Hartford Small Company HLS IA (HIASX - Free Report) . HIASX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
HIASX is part of the Small Cap Growth category, and this segment boasts an array of many other possible options. Small Cap Growth mutual funds usually focus their portfolios on stocks with large growth opportunities and a market cap of under $2 billion. These portfolios tend to feature small companies in up-and-coming industries and markets.
History of Fund/Manager
Hartford is responsible for HIASX, and the company is based out of Woodbury, MN. Hartford Small Company HLS IA debuted in December of 2001. Since then, HIASX has accumulated assets of about $547.28 million, according to the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by Steven C. Angeli who has been in charge of the fund since December of 2001.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 8.86%, 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 17.13%, 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. Compared to the category average of 13.49%, the standard deviation of HIASX over the past three years is 17.71%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 17.72% compared to the category average of 13.17%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
One cannot ignore the volatility of this segment, however, as it is always important for investors to remember the downside to any potential investment. HIASX lost 52.69% in the most recent bear market and outperformed comparable funds by 0%. This could mean that the fund is an on par choice than comparable funds during a bear market.
Nevertheless, with a 5-year beta of 1.27, the fund is likely to be more 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. HIASX has generated a negative alpha over the past five years of -3.7, demonstrating that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
Holdings
Examining the equity holdings of a mutual fund is also a valuable exercise. This can show us how the manager is applying their stated methodology, as well as if there are any inherent biases in their approach. For this particular fund, the focus is principally on equities that are traded in the United States.
Right now, 91.9% of this mutual fund's holdings are stocks, which have an average market capitalization of $4.25 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
- Technology
- Health
- Other
- Finance
Turnover is about 68%, so those in charge of the fund make more traders than comparable funds in a given year.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, HIASX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.79% compared to the category average of 1.26%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, HIASX is actually cheaper than its peers.
This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $0, while there is no minimum for each subsequent investment.
Bottom Line
Overall, Hartford Small Company HLS IA ( HIASX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Hartford Small Company HLS IA ( HIASX ) looks like a great potential choice for investors right now.
For additional information on this product, or to compare it to other mutual funds in the Small Cap Growth, make sure to go to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for additional information. If you want to check out our stock reports as well, make sure to go to Zacks.com to see all of the great tools we have to offer, including our time-tested Zacks Rank.