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If you have been looking for High Yield - Bonds funds, a place to start could be BlackRock High Yield Bond A (BHYAX - Free Report) . BHYAX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
BHYAX 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
BHYAX finds itself in the BlackRock family, based out of New York, NY. The BlackRock High Yield Bond A made its debut in November of 1998 and BHYAX has managed to accumulate roughly $1.44 billion in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund's current manager is a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 6.12%, and it sits 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 6.19%, 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 14.04%, the standard deviation of BHYAX over the past three years is 9.73%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 7.63% compared to the category average of 11.56%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
With a beta of 0.55, this fund is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, BHYAX has a positive alpha of 4.29, 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, BHYAX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.89% compared to the category average of 1%. So, BHYAX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.
Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $1,000; each subsequent investment needs to be at least $50.
Bottom Line
Overall, BlackRock High Yield Bond A ( BHYAX ) 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.
This could just be the start of your research on BHYAXin the High Yield - Bonds category. Consider going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for additional information about this fund, and all the others that we rank as well 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 BHYAX a Strong Bond Fund Right Now?
If you have been looking for High Yield - Bonds funds, a place to start could be BlackRock High Yield Bond A (BHYAX - Free Report) . BHYAX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
BHYAX 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
BHYAX finds itself in the BlackRock family, based out of New York, NY. The BlackRock High Yield Bond A made its debut in November of 1998 and BHYAX has managed to accumulate roughly $1.44 billion in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund's current manager is a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 6.12%, and it sits 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 6.19%, 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 14.04%, the standard deviation of BHYAX over the past three years is 9.73%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 7.63% compared to the category average of 11.56%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
With a beta of 0.55, this fund is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, BHYAX has a positive alpha of 4.29, 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, BHYAX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.89% compared to the category average of 1%. So, BHYAX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.
Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $1,000; each subsequent investment needs to be at least $50.
Bottom Line
Overall, BlackRock High Yield Bond A ( BHYAX ) 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.
This could just be the start of your research on BHYAXin the High Yield - Bonds category. Consider going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for additional information about this fund, and all the others that we rank as well 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.