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High Yield - Bonds fund seekers should consider taking a look at Ivy High Income N (IHIFX - Free Report) . IHIFX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
IHIFX 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
Ivy Funds is based in Boca Raton, FL, and is the manager of IHIFX. Ivy High Income N debuted in July of 2014. Since then, IHIFX has accumulated assets of about $60 million, according to 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
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. IHIFX has a 5-year annualized total return of 8.73% and it sits in the middle 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 4.68%, 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. The standard deviation of IHIFX over the past three years is 11.12% compared to the category average of 14.33%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 9.07% compared to the category average of 12.06%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
IHIFX carries a beta of 0.37, 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 6.73, 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, IHIFX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.61% compared to the category average of 1%. So, IHIFX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.
This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $0, while there is no minimum for each subsequent investment.
Bottom Line
Overall, Ivy High Income N ( IHIFX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a great potential choice for investors right now.
For additional information on the High Yield - Bonds area of the mutual fund world, make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds. There, you can see more about the ranking process, and dive even deeper into IHIFX too for additional information. Want to learn even more? We have a full suite of tools on stocks that you can use to find the best choices for your portfolio too, no matter what kind of investor you are.
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Is IHIFX a Strong Bond Fund Right Now?
High Yield - Bonds fund seekers should consider taking a look at Ivy High Income N (IHIFX - Free Report) . IHIFX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
IHIFX 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
Ivy Funds is based in Boca Raton, FL, and is the manager of IHIFX. Ivy High Income N debuted in July of 2014. Since then, IHIFX has accumulated assets of about $60 million, according to 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
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. IHIFX has a 5-year annualized total return of 8.73% and it sits in the middle 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 4.68%, 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. The standard deviation of IHIFX over the past three years is 11.12% compared to the category average of 14.33%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 9.07% compared to the category average of 12.06%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
IHIFX carries a beta of 0.37, 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 6.73, 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, IHIFX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.61% compared to the category average of 1%. So, IHIFX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.
This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $0, while there is no minimum for each subsequent investment.
Bottom Line
Overall, Ivy High Income N ( IHIFX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a great potential choice for investors right now.
For additional information on the High Yield - Bonds area of the mutual fund world, make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds. There, you can see more about the ranking process, and dive even deeper into IHIFX too for additional information. Want to learn even more? We have a full suite of tools on stocks that you can use to find the best choices for your portfolio too, no matter what kind of investor you are.