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Is BHYIX a Strong Bond Fund Right Now?

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Mutual Fund Bond fund seekers should consider taking a look at BlackRock High Yield Bond Institutional (BHYIX - Free Report) . BHYIX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

History of Fund/Manager

BHYIX is a part of the BlackRock family of funds, a company based out of New York, NY. BlackRock High Yield Bond Institutional made its debut in November of 1998, and since then, BHYIX has accumulated about $11.81 billion in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund's current manager is a team of investment professionals.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. BHYIX has a 5-year annualized total return of 5.46% and it sits 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 2.48%, which places it in the top third during this time-frame.

It is important to note that the product's returns may not reflect all its expenses. Any fees not reflected would lower the returns. Total returns do not reflect the fund's [%] sale charge. If sales charges were included, total returns would have been lower.

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. Over the past three years, BHYIX's standard deviation comes in at 8.33%, compared to the category average of 13.38%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 9.69% compared to the category average of 14.2%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

BHYIX carries a beta of 0.21, 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 4.55, which measures performance on a risk-adjusted basis.

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, BHYIX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.57% compared to the category average of 0.96%. So, BHYIX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.

Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $2 million; each subsequent investment has no minimum amount.

Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.

Bottom Line

Overall, BlackRock High Yield Bond Institutional ( BHYIX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, BlackRock High Yield Bond Institutional ( BHYIX ) 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 BHYIX to its peers as well for additional information. If you are more of a stock investor, make sure to also check out our Zacks Rank, and our full suite of tools we have available for novice and professional investors alike.


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