Any investors hoping to find a High Yield - Bonds fund could think about starting with Ivy High Income A (WHIAX Quick QuoteWHIAX - Free Report) . WHIAX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

WHIAX 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

WHIAX is a part of the Ivy Funds family of funds, a company based out of Boca Raton, FL. The Ivy High Income A made its debut in September of 2003 and WHIAX has managed to accumulate roughly $1.87 billion in assets, as of 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

Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 5.98%, and it sits in the bottom third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 3.8%, 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. WHIAX's standard deviation over the past three years is 11.02% compared to the category average of 14.22%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 9.35% compared to the category average of 12.06%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

This fund has a beta of 0.46, meaning that it is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, WHIAX has a positive alpha of 3.95, which measures performance on a risk-adjusted basis.

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, WHIAX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.95% compared to the category average of 1.01%. So, WHIAX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.

While the minimum initial investment for the product is $750, investors should also note that there is no minimum for each subsequent investment.

Bottom Line

Overall, Ivy High Income A ( WHIAX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Ivy High Income A ( WHIAX ) looks like a somewhat average choice for investors right now.

Don't stop here for your research on High Yield - Bonds 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 WHIAX 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.