Sector - Health fund seekers should not consider taking a look at Delaware Healthcare I (DLHIX Quick QuoteDLHIX - Free Report) at this time. DLHIX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 4 (Sell), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

We note that DLHIX is a Sector - Health fund, and this area is also loaded with various options. Sector - Health mutual funds give investors an opportunity to focus on one of the largest sectors of the American economy, healthcare. Funds in this category can include everything from for-profit hospitals to pharmaceutical companies and medical device manufacturers.

History of Fund/Manager

Delaware Investments is based in Philadelphia, PA, and is the manager of DLHIX. Since Delaware Healthcare I made its debut in September of 2007, DLHIX has garnered more than $493.26 million in assets. The fund is currently managed by Liu-Er Chen who has been in charge of the fund since September of 2007.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 9.23%, 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 4.51%, 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, DLHIX's standard deviation comes in at 13.89%, compared to the category average of 14.98%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 15.7% compared to the category average of 15.87%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

The fund has a 5-year beta of 0.64, so investors should note that it is hypothetically less volatile than the market at large. Because alpha represents a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which is the S&P 500 in this case, one should pay attention to this metric as well. DLHIX has generated a positive alpha over the past five years of 0.16, demonstrating that managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

Expenses

As competition heats up in the mutual fund market, costs become increasingly important. Compared to its otherwise identical counterpart, a low-cost product will be an outperformer, all other things being equal. Thus, taking a closer look at cost-related metrics is vital for investors. In terms of fees, DLHIX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.96% compared to the category average of 1%. From a cost perspective, DLHIX is actually cheaper than its peers.

This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $0, while 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, even with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Delaware Healthcare I ( DLHIX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and therefore looks a somewhat weak choice for investors right now.

For additional information on this product, or to compare it to other mutual funds in the Sector - Health, make sure to go to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds 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.