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Is DHYAX a Strong Bond Fund Right Now?

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Any investors hoping to find a Mutual Fund Bond fund could think about starting with Dreyfus High Yield Municipals Bond A (DHYAX - Free Report) . DHYAX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

History of Fund/Manager

BNY Mellon is based in New York, NY, and is the manager of DHYAX. Dreyfus High Yield Municipals Bond A made its debut in March of 2007, and since then, DHYAX has accumulated about $78.54 million in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. A team of investment professionals is the fund's current manager.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 0.77%, 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 -2.47%, 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. Compared to the category average of 13.28%, the standard deviation of DHYAX over the past three years is 10.83%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 10.84% compared to the category average of 13.84%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

DHYAX carries a beta of 1.31, meaning that the fund is more volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. With this in mind, it has a negative alpha of -1.07, which measures performance on a risk-adjusted basis.

However, it is worth noting that 35 % of the bonds in this fund are not ranked, so take the average quality level with a bit of caution.

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, DHYAX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.01% compared to the category average of 0.94%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, DHYAX is actually more expensive than its peers.

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, even with its comparatively weak performance, average downside risk, and higher fees, Dreyfus High Yield Municipals Bond A ( DHYAX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and therefore looks a somewhat average 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. And don't forget, Zacks has all of your needs covered on the equity side too! Make sure to check out Zacks.com for more information on our screening capabilities, Rank, and all our articles as well.


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