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Any investors hoping to find a Mutual Fund Bond fund could think about starting with T. Rowe Price Tax Free High Yield Retail (PRFHX - Free Report) . PRFHX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on various 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 $2.27 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 has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 1.46%, and is in the middle third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 2.32%, 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 8.07% compared to the category average of 13.05%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 7.85% compared to the category average of 12.82%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
With a beta of 1.05, this fund is more volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, PRFHX has a negative alpha of -0.65, which measures performance on a risk-adjusted basis.
Ratings
However, it is worth noting that 41 % 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, PRFHX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.67% compared to the category average of 0.78%. PRFHX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.
Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $2,500; each subsequent investment needs to be at least $100.
Bottom Line
Overall, T. Rowe Price Tax Free High Yield Retail ( PRFHX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a great 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 PRFHX too for additional information. Want to learn even more? We have a full suite of tools on stocks that you can use to find the best choices for your portfolio too, no matter what kind of investor you are.
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Is PRFHX a Strong Bond Fund Right Now?
Any investors hoping to find a Mutual Fund Bond fund could think about starting with T. Rowe Price Tax Free High Yield Retail (PRFHX - Free Report) . PRFHX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on various 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 $2.27 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 has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 1.46%, and is in the middle third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 2.32%, 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 8.07% compared to the category average of 13.05%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 7.85% compared to the category average of 12.82%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
With a beta of 1.05, this fund is more volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, PRFHX has a negative alpha of -0.65, which measures performance on a risk-adjusted basis.
Ratings
However, it is worth noting that 41 % 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, PRFHX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.67% compared to the category average of 0.78%. PRFHX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.
Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $2,500; each subsequent investment needs to be at least $100.
Bottom Line
Overall, T. Rowe Price Tax Free High Yield Retail ( PRFHX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a great 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 PRFHX too for additional information. Want to learn even more? We have a full suite of tools on stocks that you can use to find the best choices for your portfolio too, no matter what kind of investor you are.