If you have been looking for High Yield - Bonds fund category, a potential starting could be Ivy High Income A (WHIAX). WHIAX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
We note that WHIAX is a High Yield - Bonds option, which is an area loaded with different investment choices. High Yield - Bonds funds are often known as " junk " bonds since they are below investment grade. This means they are at an elevated risk of default, at least when compared to their investment grade peers. On the plus side, junk bonds generally pay out higher yields, all while posing similar interest rate risks as we see with their investment grade counterparts.
History of Fund/Manager
Delaware Investments is based in Philadelphia, PA, and is the manager of WHIAX. The Ivy High Income A made its debut in September of 2003 and WHIAX has managed to accumulate roughly $1.32 billion in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by John McCarthy who has been in charge of the fund since November of 2021.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 3.5%, and it sits in the bottom third among its category peers. But if you are looking for a shorter time frame, it is also worth looking at its 3-year annualized total return of 2.55%, which places it in the bottom 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 WHIAX over the past three years is 9.01% compared to the category average of 13.09%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 10.73% compared to the category average of 14.14%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
With a beta of 0.02, this fund is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, WHIAX has a positive alpha of 3.48, which measures performance on a risk-adjusted basis.
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, WHIAX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.89% compared to the category average of 0.94%. WHIAX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.
This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $1,000, and each subsequent investment should be at least $100.
Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Bottom Line
Overall, Ivy High Income A ( WHIAX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Ivy High Income A ( WHIAX ) looks like a somewhat average choice for investors right now.
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
