Any investors hoping to find a High Yield - Bonds fund might consider looking past Federated Institutional High Yield Bond (FIHBX Quick QuoteFIHBX - Free Report) . FIHBX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 4 (Sell), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

FIHBX is classified in the High Yield - Bonds segment by Zacks, an area full of investment possibilities. High Yield - Bonds funds come in below investment grade, and are referred to as " junk " bonds for this reason. Compared to their investment grade peers, these funds are at a higher default risk, but typically pay out higher yields while posing similar interest rate risks.

History of Fund/Manager

Federated is based in Pittsburgh, PA, and is the manager of FIHBX. Federated Institutional High Yield Bond made its debut in November of 2002, and since then, FIHBX has accumulated about $5.56 billion in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund's current manager is a team of investment professionals.

Performance

Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 3.28%, 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 1.12%, 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, FIHBX's standard deviation comes in at 8.3%, compared to the category average of 12.01%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 8.96% compared to the category average of 13.08%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

This fund has a beta of 0.23, meaning that it is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, FIHBX has a positive alpha of 3.41, which measures performance on a risk-adjusted basis.

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, FIHBX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.49% compared to the category average of 0.94%. So, FIHBX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.

Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $1 million and that 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, even with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Federated Institutional High Yield Bond ( FIHBX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and therefore looks a somewhat weak choice for investors right now.

This could just be the start of your research on FIHBXin the High Yield - Bonds category. Consider going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for additional information about this fund, and all the others that we rank as well 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.