Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Is Janus Henderson Global Life Science T (JAGLX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

Read MoreHide Full Article

If you have been looking for Sector - Health funds, a place to start could be Janus Henderson Global Life Science T (JAGLX - Free Report) . JAGLX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

Zacks categorizes JAGLX as Sector - Health, a segment packed with options. Sector - Health mutual funds offer investors a focus on the healthcare industry, one of the largest sectors in the American economy. These funds can include everything from pharmaceutical companies to medical device manufacturers and for-profit hospitals.

History of Fund/Manager

JAGLX is a part of the Janus Fund family of funds, a company based out of Boston, MA. Janus Henderson Global Life Science T debuted in December of 1998. Since then, JAGLX has accumulated assets of about $1.27 billion, according to the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by Andrew Acker who has been in charge of the fund since May of 2007.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 11.2%, 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 4.9%, which places it in the middle 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, JAGLX's standard deviation comes in at 15.15%, compared to the category average of 14.68%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 16.22% compared to the category average of 15.55%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

Investors should note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 0.7, which means it is hypothetically less volatile than the market at large. Another factor to consider is alpha, as it reflects a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark-in this case, the S&P 500. The fund has produced a positive alpha over the past 5 years of 0.76, which shows that managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

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, JAGLX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.90% compared to the category average of 0.99%. So, JAGLX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.

While the minimum initial investment for the product is $2,500, investors should also note that there is no minimum for each subsequent investment.

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

Bottom Line

Overall, Janus Henderson Global Life Science T ( JAGLX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Janus Henderson Global Life Science T ( JAGLX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.

Your research on the Sector - Health segment doesn't have to stop here. You can check out all the great mutual fund tools we have to offer by going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds to see the additional features we offer as well 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.


See More Zacks Research for These Tickers


Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:


Janus Henderson Global Life Sci T (JAGLX) - free report >>

Published in