There are plenty of choices in the Sector - Health category, but where should you start your research? Well, one fund that you should consider investigating is Macquarie Healthcare I (DLHIX Quick QuoteDLHIX - Free Report) . DLHIX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

Zacks categorizes DLHIX 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

Macquarie is based in Philadelphia, PA, and is the manager of DLHIX. Macquarie Healthcare I made its debut in September of 2007, and since then, DLHIX has accumulated about $476.91 million in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund's current manager, Liu Er Chen, has been in charge of the fund since September of 2007.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. DLHIX has a 5-year annualized total return of 8.67%, and is in the top third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 10.13%, 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. The standard deviation of DLHIX over the past three years is 12.98% compared to the category average of 12.8%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 13.61% compared to the category average of 14.09%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

With a 5-year beta of 0.56, the fund is likely to be less volatile than the market average. 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. With a negative alpha of -1.9, managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick 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 0.99%. So, DLHIX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.

Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $0; each subsequent investment has no minimum amount.

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

Bottom Line

Overall, Macquarie Healthcare I ( DLHIX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a somewhat average 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. Zacks provides a full suite of tools to help you analyze your portfolio - both funds and stocks - in the most efficient way possible.