We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience. This includes personalizing content and advertising. To learn more, click here. By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies, revised Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.
You are being directed to ZacksTrade, a division of LBMZ Securities and licensed broker-dealer. ZacksTrade and Zacks.com are separate companies. The web link between the two companies is not a solicitation or offer to invest in a particular security or type of security. ZacksTrade does not endorse or adopt any particular investment strategy, any analyst opinion/rating/report or any approach to evaluating individual securities.
If you wish to go to ZacksTrade, click OK. If you do not, click Cancel.
Is Delaware Healthcare A (DLHAX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
Read MoreHide Full Article
On the lookout for a Sector - Health fund? Starting with Delaware Healthcare A (DLHAX - Free Report) is one possibility. DLHAX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
The world of Sector - Health funds is an area filled with options, such as DLHAX. Healthcare is one of the biggest sectors of the American economy, and Sector - Health mutual funds provide a great opportunity to invest in this industry. Here, funds 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 DLHAX. Delaware Healthcare A made its debut in September of 2007, and since then, DLHAX has accumulated about $306.21 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. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 16.48%, and is 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 14.97%, which places it in the top third during this time-frame.
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 DLHAX over the past three years is 13.41% compared to the category average of 10.85%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 12.66% compared to the category average of 10.48%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
Investors cannot discount the risks to this segment though, as it is always important to remember the downside for any potential investment. In DLHAX's case, the fund lost 24.67% in the most recent bear market and underperformed its peer group by 8.21%. This means that the fund could possibly be a worse choice than its peers during a down market environment.
Even still, the fund has a 5-year beta of 0.98, so investors should note that it is hypothetically as volatile as the market at large. Alpha is an additional metric to take into consideration, since it represents a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which in this case, is the S&P 500. DLHAX has generated a positive alpha over the past five years of 2.34, demonstrating 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, DLHAX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.31% compared to the category average of 1.31%. From a cost perspective, DLHAX is actually on par with its peers.
Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $1,000; each subsequent investment needs to be at least $100.
Bottom Line
Overall, Delaware Healthcare A ( DLHAX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and on par fees, Delaware Healthcare A ( DLHAX ) looks like a good potential 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. 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:
Image: Bigstock
Is Delaware Healthcare A (DLHAX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
On the lookout for a Sector - Health fund? Starting with Delaware Healthcare A (DLHAX - Free Report) is one possibility. DLHAX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
The world of Sector - Health funds is an area filled with options, such as DLHAX. Healthcare is one of the biggest sectors of the American economy, and Sector - Health mutual funds provide a great opportunity to invest in this industry. Here, funds 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 DLHAX. Delaware Healthcare A made its debut in September of 2007, and since then, DLHAX has accumulated about $306.21 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. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 16.48%, and is 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 14.97%, which places it in the top third during this time-frame.
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 DLHAX over the past three years is 13.41% compared to the category average of 10.85%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 12.66% compared to the category average of 10.48%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
Investors cannot discount the risks to this segment though, as it is always important to remember the downside for any potential investment. In DLHAX's case, the fund lost 24.67% in the most recent bear market and underperformed its peer group by 8.21%. This means that the fund could possibly be a worse choice than its peers during a down market environment.
Even still, the fund has a 5-year beta of 0.98, so investors should note that it is hypothetically as volatile as the market at large. Alpha is an additional metric to take into consideration, since it represents a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which in this case, is the S&P 500. DLHAX has generated a positive alpha over the past five years of 2.34, demonstrating 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, DLHAX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.31% compared to the category average of 1.31%. From a cost perspective, DLHAX is actually on par with its peers.
Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $1,000; each subsequent investment needs to be at least $100.
Bottom Line
Overall, Delaware Healthcare A ( DLHAX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and on par fees, Delaware Healthcare A ( DLHAX ) looks like a good potential 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. 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.