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If you have been looking for High Yield - Bonds funds, a place to start could be Fidelity High Income (SPHIX - Free Report) . SPHIX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
SPHIX is classified in the High Yield - Bonds segment by Zacks, an area full of investment possibilities. High Yield - Bonds funds come in below investment grade, and are referred to as " junk " bonds for this reason. Compared to their investment grade peers, these funds are at a higher default risk, but typically pay out higher yields while posing similar interest rate risks.
History of Fund/Manager
Fidelity is based in Boston, MA, and is the manager of SPHIX. Fidelity High Income made its debut in August of 1990, and since then, SPHIX has accumulated about $4.09 billion in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund is currently managed by Michael Weaver who has been in charge of the fund since October of 2018.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 4.23%, and is in the top third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 2.96%, 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. Over the past three years, SPHIX's standard deviation comes in at 8.35%, compared to the category average of 8.77%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 7.74% compared to the category average of 7.61%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
SPHIX carries a beta of 0.44, 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 2.29, which measures performance on a risk-adjusted basis.
Expenses
For investors, taking a closer look at cost-related metrics is key, since costs are increasingly important for mutual fund investing. Competition is heating up in this space, and a lower cost product will likely outperform its otherwise identical counterpart, all things being equal. In terms of fees, SPHIX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.69% compared to the category average of 1.01%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, SPHIX is actually cheaper than its peers.
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, Fidelity High Income ( SPHIX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
For additional information on this product, or to compare it to other mutual funds in the High Yield - Bonds, make sure to go to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds 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 SPHIX a Strong Bond Fund Right Now?
If you have been looking for High Yield - Bonds funds, a place to start could be Fidelity High Income (SPHIX - Free Report) . SPHIX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
SPHIX is classified in the High Yield - Bonds segment by Zacks, an area full of investment possibilities. High Yield - Bonds funds come in below investment grade, and are referred to as " junk " bonds for this reason. Compared to their investment grade peers, these funds are at a higher default risk, but typically pay out higher yields while posing similar interest rate risks.
History of Fund/Manager
Fidelity is based in Boston, MA, and is the manager of SPHIX. Fidelity High Income made its debut in August of 1990, and since then, SPHIX has accumulated about $4.09 billion in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund is currently managed by Michael Weaver who has been in charge of the fund since October of 2018.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 4.23%, and is in the top third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 2.96%, 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. Over the past three years, SPHIX's standard deviation comes in at 8.35%, compared to the category average of 8.77%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 7.74% compared to the category average of 7.61%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
SPHIX carries a beta of 0.44, 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 2.29, which measures performance on a risk-adjusted basis.
Expenses
For investors, taking a closer look at cost-related metrics is key, since costs are increasingly important for mutual fund investing. Competition is heating up in this space, and a lower cost product will likely outperform its otherwise identical counterpart, all things being equal. In terms of fees, SPHIX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.69% compared to the category average of 1.01%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, SPHIX is actually cheaper than its peers.
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, Fidelity High Income ( SPHIX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
For additional information on this product, or to compare it to other mutual funds in the High Yield - Bonds, make sure to go to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds 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.