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Is Hartford Small Company HLS IA (HIASX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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Have you been searching for a Small Cap Growth fund? You might want to begin with Hartford Small Company HLS IA (HIASX - Free Report) . HIASX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
The world of Small Cap Growth funds is an area filled with options, such as HIASX. These funds tend to create their portfolios around stocks that sport large growth opportunities and market capitalization of less than $2 billion. The companies in these portfolios are usually on the smaller side, and are in up-and-coming industries and markets.
History of Fund/Manager
HIASX finds itself in the Hartford family, based out of Woodbury, MN. Hartford Small Company HLS IA debuted in December of 2001. Since then, HIASX has accumulated assets of about $397.51 million, according to the most recently available information. Ranjit Ramachandran is the fund's current manager and has held that role since February of 2020.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 2.91%, and is in the bottom 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 11.46%, 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, HIASX's standard deviation comes in at 18.43%, compared to the category average of 15.67%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 20.18% compared to the category average of 17.37%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
With a 5-year beta of 1.12, the fund is likely to be more volatile than the market average. 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. The fund has produced a negative alpha over the past 5 years of -11.23, which shows that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
Holdings
Investigating the equity holdings of a mutual fund is also a valuable exercise. This can show us how the manager is applying their stated methodology, as well as if there are any inherent biases in their approach. For this particular fund, the focus is principally on equities that are traded in the United States.
Right now, 75.25% of this mutual fund's holdings are stocks, with an average market capitalization of $6.92 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
Health
Other
Technology
Finance
With turnover at about 66%, this fund makes fewer trades than comparable funds.
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, HIASX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.81% compared to the category average of 1.06%. HIASX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.
While the minimum initial investment for the product is $0, investors should also note that there is no minimum for each subsequent investment.
Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into consideration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Bottom Line
Overall, even with its comparatively weak performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Hartford Small Company HLS IA ( HIASX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and therefore looks a somewhat average choice for investors right now.
Want even more information about HIASX? Then go over to Zacks.com and check out our mutual fund comparison tool, and all of the other great features that we have to help you with your mutual fund analysis 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.
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Is Hartford Small Company HLS IA (HIASX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
Have you been searching for a Small Cap Growth fund? You might want to begin with Hartford Small Company HLS IA (HIASX - Free Report) . HIASX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
The world of Small Cap Growth funds is an area filled with options, such as HIASX. These funds tend to create their portfolios around stocks that sport large growth opportunities and market capitalization of less than $2 billion. The companies in these portfolios are usually on the smaller side, and are in up-and-coming industries and markets.
History of Fund/Manager
HIASX finds itself in the Hartford family, based out of Woodbury, MN. Hartford Small Company HLS IA debuted in December of 2001. Since then, HIASX has accumulated assets of about $397.51 million, according to the most recently available information. Ranjit Ramachandran is the fund's current manager and has held that role since February of 2020.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 2.91%, and is in the bottom 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 11.46%, 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, HIASX's standard deviation comes in at 18.43%, compared to the category average of 15.67%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 20.18% compared to the category average of 17.37%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
With a 5-year beta of 1.12, the fund is likely to be more volatile than the market average. 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. The fund has produced a negative alpha over the past 5 years of -11.23, which shows that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
Holdings
Investigating the equity holdings of a mutual fund is also a valuable exercise. This can show us how the manager is applying their stated methodology, as well as if there are any inherent biases in their approach. For this particular fund, the focus is principally on equities that are traded in the United States.
Right now, 75.25% of this mutual fund's holdings are stocks, with an average market capitalization of $6.92 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
With turnover at about 66%, this fund makes fewer trades than comparable funds.
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, HIASX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.81% compared to the category average of 1.06%. HIASX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.
While the minimum initial investment for the product is $0, investors should also note that there is no minimum for each subsequent investment.
Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into consideration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Bottom Line
Overall, even with its comparatively weak performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Hartford Small Company HLS IA ( HIASX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and therefore looks a somewhat average choice for investors right now.
Want even more information about HIASX? Then go over to Zacks.com and check out our mutual fund comparison tool, and all of the other great features that we have to help you with your mutual fund analysis 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.