Is BHYSX a Strong Bond Fund Right Now?
On the lookout for a Mutual Fund Bond fund? Starting with BlackRock High Yield Bond Services (BHYSX) is one possibility. BHYSX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
History of Fund/Manager
BHYSX is a part of the BlackRock family of funds, a company based out of New York, NY. Since BlackRock High Yield Bond Services made its debut in November of 1998, BHYSX has garnered more than $132.52 million in assets. The fund's current manager is a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 6.02%, 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 6.75%, 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. Over the past three years, BHYSX's standard deviation comes in at 9.51%, compared to the category average of 14.16%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 7.54% compared to the category average of 11.66%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
With a beta of 0.58, this fund is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, BHYSX has a positive alpha of 4.2, which measures performance on a risk-adjusted basis.
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, BHYSX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.84% compared to the category average of 1%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, BHYSX is actually cheaper than its peers.
While the minimum initial investment for the product is $5,000, investors should also note that there is no minimum for each subsequent investment.
Bottom Line
Overall, BlackRock High Yield Bond Services ( BHYSX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, BlackRock High Yield Bond Services ( BHYSX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
Your research on the Mutual Fund Bond 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. 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.
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