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Is LHYAX a Strong Bond Fund Right Now?

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Mutual Fund Bond fund seekers should consider taking a look at Lord Abbett High Yield A (LHYAX - Free Report) . LHYAX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

History of Fund/Manager

LHYAX finds itself in the Lord Abbett family, based out of Jersey City, NJ. Since Lord Abbett High Yield A made its debut in December of 1998, LHYAX has garnered more than $919.82 million in assets. The fund is currently managed by a team of investment professionals.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 2.75%, and is in the middle 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 1.91%, which places it in the middle 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. Compared to the category average of 14.11%, the standard deviation of LHYAX over the past three years is 11.41%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 9.35% compared to the category average of 12.46%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

With a beta of 0.38, this fund is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, LHYAX has a positive alpha of 1.98, 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, LHYAX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.88% compared to the category average of 0.98%. So, LHYAX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.

While the minimum initial investment for the product is $1,500, investors should also note that there is no minimum for each subsequent investment.

Bottom Line

Overall, Lord Abbett High Yield A ( LHYAX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a great potential choice for investors right now.

Want even more information about LHYAX? 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 want to check out our stock reports as well, make sure to go to Zacks.com to see all of the great tools we have to offer, including our time-tested Zacks Rank.


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