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Have you been searching for a Mutual Fund Bond fund? You might want to begin with T. Rowe Price Tax Free High Yield Retail (PRFHX - Free Report) . PRFHX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
History of Fund/Manager
T. Rowe Price is based in Baltimore, MD, and is the manager of PRFHX. T. Rowe Price Tax Free High Yield Retail made its debut in March of 1985, and since then, PRFHX has accumulated about $4.45 billion in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund's current manager, James M. Murphy, has been in charge of the fund since January of 2001.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 2.5%, and is in the middle 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 1.16%, 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. PRFHX's standard deviation over the past three years is 7.81% compared to the category average of 12.29%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 6.22% compared to the category average of 10.69%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
This fund has a beta of 0.82, meaning that it is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, PRFHX has a positive alpha of 0.55, which measures performance on a risk-adjusted basis.
Ratings
Investors should also consider a bond's rating, which is a grade ( 'AAA' to 'D' ) given to a bond that indicates its credit quality. With this letter scale in mind, PRFHX has 42.35% in medium quality bonds, with ratings of 'A' to 'BBB'. The fund's junk bond component-bonds rated 'BB' or below-is at 24.05%, giving PRFHX an average quality of BBB. This means that it focuses on medium quality securities.
However, it is worth noting that 30 % of the bonds in this fund are not ranked, so take the average quality level with a bit of caution.
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, PRFHX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.62% compared to the category average of 0.79%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, PRFHX is actually cheaper than its peers.
Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $2,500 and that each subsequent investment needs to be at $100.
Bottom Line
Overall, T. Rowe Price Tax Free High Yield Retail ( PRFHX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, T. Rowe Price Tax Free High Yield Retail ( PRFHX ) looks like a somewhat average choice for investors right now.
Want even more information about PRFHX? Then go over to Zacks.com and check out our mutual fund comparison tool, and all of the other great features that we have to help you with your mutual fund analysis 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 PRFHX a Strong Bond Fund Right Now?
Have you been searching for a Mutual Fund Bond fund? You might want to begin with T. Rowe Price Tax Free High Yield Retail (PRFHX - Free Report) . PRFHX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
History of Fund/Manager
T. Rowe Price is based in Baltimore, MD, and is the manager of PRFHX. T. Rowe Price Tax Free High Yield Retail made its debut in March of 1985, and since then, PRFHX has accumulated about $4.45 billion in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund's current manager, James M. Murphy, has been in charge of the fund since January of 2001.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 2.5%, and is in the middle 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 1.16%, 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. PRFHX's standard deviation over the past three years is 7.81% compared to the category average of 12.29%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 6.22% compared to the category average of 10.69%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
This fund has a beta of 0.82, meaning that it is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, PRFHX has a positive alpha of 0.55, which measures performance on a risk-adjusted basis.
Ratings
Investors should also consider a bond's rating, which is a grade ( 'AAA' to 'D' ) given to a bond that indicates its credit quality. With this letter scale in mind, PRFHX has 42.35% in medium quality bonds, with ratings of 'A' to 'BBB'. The fund's junk bond component-bonds rated 'BB' or below-is at 24.05%, giving PRFHX an average quality of BBB. This means that it focuses on medium quality securities.
However, it is worth noting that 30 % of the bonds in this fund are not ranked, so take the average quality level with a bit of caution.
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, PRFHX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.62% compared to the category average of 0.79%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, PRFHX is actually cheaper than its peers.
Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $2,500 and that each subsequent investment needs to be at $100.
Bottom Line
Overall, T. Rowe Price Tax Free High Yield Retail ( PRFHX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, T. Rowe Price Tax Free High Yield Retail ( PRFHX ) looks like a somewhat average choice for investors right now.
Want even more information about PRFHX? Then go over to Zacks.com and check out our mutual fund comparison tool, and all of the other great features that we have to help you with your mutual fund analysis 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.