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There are plenty of choices in the Mutual Fund Bond category, but where should you start your research? Well, one fund that might be worth investigating is Northern Multi-Managed High Yield Opportunity (NMHYX - Free Report) . NMHYX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
History of Fund/Manager
Northern is based in Chicago, IL, and is the manager of NMHYX. Northern Multi-Managed High Yield Opportunity made its debut in October of 2009, and since then, NMHYX has accumulated about $172.04 million in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund's current manager, Christopher Vella, has been in charge of the fund since January of 2012.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. NMHYX has a 5-year annualized total return of 5.77% and is in the top third among its category peers. If you're interested in shorter time frames, do not dismiss looking at the fund's 3-year annualized total return of 6.14%, which places it in the middle 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 9.36%, the standard deviation of NMHYX over the past three years is 9.82%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 7.77% compared to the category average of 7.44%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
NMHYX carries a beta of 0.38, 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 4.27, 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, NMHYX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.85% compared to the category average of 1%. From a cost perspective, NMHYX is actually cheaper than its peers.
While the minimum initial investment for the product is $2,500, investors should also note that each subsequent investment needs to be at least $50.
Bottom Line
Overall, Northern Multi-Managed High Yield Opportunity ( NMHYX ) 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.
Don't stop here for your research on Mutual Fund Bond 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 NMHYX 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.
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Is NMHYX a Strong Bond Fund Right Now?
There are plenty of choices in the Mutual Fund Bond category, but where should you start your research? Well, one fund that might be worth investigating is Northern Multi-Managed High Yield Opportunity (NMHYX - Free Report) . NMHYX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
History of Fund/Manager
Northern is based in Chicago, IL, and is the manager of NMHYX. Northern Multi-Managed High Yield Opportunity made its debut in October of 2009, and since then, NMHYX has accumulated about $172.04 million in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund's current manager, Christopher Vella, has been in charge of the fund since January of 2012.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. NMHYX has a 5-year annualized total return of 5.77% and is in the top third among its category peers. If you're interested in shorter time frames, do not dismiss looking at the fund's 3-year annualized total return of 6.14%, which places it in the middle 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 9.36%, the standard deviation of NMHYX over the past three years is 9.82%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 7.77% compared to the category average of 7.44%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
NMHYX carries a beta of 0.38, 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 4.27, 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, NMHYX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.85% compared to the category average of 1%. From a cost perspective, NMHYX is actually cheaper than its peers.
While the minimum initial investment for the product is $2,500, investors should also note that each subsequent investment needs to be at least $50.
Bottom Line
Overall, Northern Multi-Managed High Yield Opportunity ( NMHYX ) 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.
Don't stop here for your research on Mutual Fund Bond 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 NMHYX 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.