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Mutual Fund Bond fund seekers should consider taking a look at Goldman Sachs High Yield Municipals A (GHYAX - Free Report) . GHYAX 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
Goldman Sachs is based in New York, NY, and is the manager of GHYAX. Since Goldman Sachs High Yield Municipals A made its debut in April of 2000, GHYAX has garnered more than $452 million in assets. The fund's current manager is a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 2.1%, and is in the top 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 -1.6%, 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. The standard deviation of GHYAX over the past three years is 10.44% compared to the category average of 15.81%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 8.32% compared to the category average of 13.69%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
GHYAX carries a beta of 0.94, 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 0.76, which measures performance on a risk-adjusted basis.
Ratings
However, it is worth noting that 35 % of the bonds in this fund are not ranked, so take the average quality level with a bit of caution.
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, GHYAX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.85% compared to the category average of 0.79%. GHYAX is actually more expensive than its peers when you consider factors like cost.
This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $1,000, and each subsequent investment should be at least $50.
Bottom Line
Overall, Goldman Sachs High Yield Municipals A ( GHYAX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, better downside risk, and higher fees, Goldman Sachs High Yield Municipals A ( GHYAX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
For additional information on the Mutual Fund Bond 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 GHYAX too for additional information. And don't forget, Zacks has all of your needs covered on the equity side too! Make sure to check out Zacks.com for more information on our screening capabilities, Rank, and all our articles as well.
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Is GHYAX a Strong Bond Fund Right Now?
Mutual Fund Bond fund seekers should consider taking a look at Goldman Sachs High Yield Municipals A (GHYAX - Free Report) . GHYAX 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
Goldman Sachs is based in New York, NY, and is the manager of GHYAX. Since Goldman Sachs High Yield Municipals A made its debut in April of 2000, GHYAX has garnered more than $452 million in assets. The fund's current manager is a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 2.1%, and is in the top 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 -1.6%, 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. The standard deviation of GHYAX over the past three years is 10.44% compared to the category average of 15.81%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 8.32% compared to the category average of 13.69%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
GHYAX carries a beta of 0.94, 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 0.76, which measures performance on a risk-adjusted basis.
Ratings
However, it is worth noting that 35 % of the bonds in this fund are not ranked, so take the average quality level with a bit of caution.
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, GHYAX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.85% compared to the category average of 0.79%. GHYAX is actually more expensive than its peers when you consider factors like cost.
This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $1,000, and each subsequent investment should be at least $50.
Bottom Line
Overall, Goldman Sachs High Yield Municipals A ( GHYAX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, better downside risk, and higher fees, Goldman Sachs High Yield Municipals A ( GHYAX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
For additional information on the Mutual Fund Bond 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 GHYAX too for additional information. And don't forget, Zacks has all of your needs covered on the equity side too! Make sure to check out Zacks.com for more information on our screening capabilities, Rank, and all our articles as well.