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Is Janus Henderson Global Life Science A (JFNAX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

On the lookout for a Sector - Health fund? Starting with Janus Henderson Global Life Science A (JFNAX) is one possibility. JFNAX possesses 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 JFNAX. 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

Janus Fund is based in Boston, MA, and is the manager of JFNAX. Janus Henderson Global Life Science A made its debut in July of 2009, and since then, JFNAX has accumulated about $243.23 million in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund is currently managed by Andrew Acker who has been in charge of the fund since July of 2009.

Performance

Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. JFNAX has a 5-year annualized total return of 11.45% and it sits 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 17.26%, 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, JFNAX's standard deviation comes in at 17.9%, compared to the category average of 14.85%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 17.14% compared to the category average of 13.08%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

Investors should note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 0.9, which means it is hypothetically less volatile than the market at large. 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. The fund has produced a negative alpha over the past 5 years of -0.66, which shows that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick 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, JFNAX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.99% compared to the category average of 1.35%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, JFNAX is actually cheaper than its peers.

Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $2,500 and that each subsequent investment has no minimum amount.

Bottom Line

Overall, Janus Henderson Global Life Science A ( JFNAX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.

Want even more information about JFNAX? 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. 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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