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Is IHIFX a Strong Bond Fund Right Now?

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Any investors hoping to find a Mutual Fund Bond fund might consider looking past Ivy High Income N (IHIFX - Free Report) . IHIFX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 4 (Sell), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

History of Fund/Manager

Delaware Investments is responsible for IHIFX, and the company is based out of Philadelphia, PA. Since Ivy High Income N made its debut in July of 2014, IHIFX has garnered more than $66.02 million in assets. John P. McCarthy is the fund's current manager and has held that role since November of 2021.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 4.74%, and it sits in the bottom 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 5.16%, 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. Compared to the category average of 13.56%, the standard deviation of IHIFX over the past three years is 10.8%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 8.81% compared to the category average of 11.81%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

With a beta of 0.2, this fund is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, IHIFX has a positive alpha of 3.29, which measures performance on a risk-adjusted basis.

Expenses

As competition heats up in the mutual fund market, costs become increasingly important. Compared to its otherwise identical counterpart, a low-cost product will be an outperformer, all other things being equal. Thus, taking a closer look at cost-related metrics is vital for investors. In terms of fees, IHIFX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.59% compared to the category average of 0.99%. From a cost perspective, IHIFX is actually cheaper than its peers.

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 low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Ivy High Income N ( IHIFX ) looks like a somewhat weak 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 IHIFX 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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