We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience. This includes personalizing content and advertising. To learn more, click here. By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies, revised Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.
You are being directed to ZacksTrade, a division of LBMZ Securities and licensed broker-dealer. ZacksTrade and Zacks.com are separate companies. The web link between the two companies is not a solicitation or offer to invest in a particular security or type of security. ZacksTrade does not endorse or adopt any particular investment strategy, any analyst opinion/rating/report or any approach to evaluating individual securities.
If you wish to go to ZacksTrade, click OK. If you do not, click Cancel.
Is Hartford Healthcare Fund HLS IB (HBGHX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
Read MoreHide Full Article
Have you been searching for a Mutual Fund Equity Report fund? You might want to begin with Hartford Healthcare Fund HLS IB (HBGHX - Free Report) . HBGHX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
History of Fund/Manager
Hartford is based in Woodbury, MN, and is the manager of HBGHX. Since Hartford Healthcare Fund HLS IB made its debut in October of 2002, HBGHX has garnered more than $31.16 million in assets. The fund's current manager is a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. HBGHX has a 5-year annualized total return of 7.39% and it sits in the bottom third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 9.37%, 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. The standard deviation of HBGHX over the past three years is 17.78% compared to the category average of 17.33%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 17.25% compared to the category average of 16.06%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
The fund has a 5-year beta of 0.83, so investors should note that it is hypothetically less volatile than the market at large. Because alpha represents a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which is the S&P 500 in this case, one should pay attention to this metric as well. HBGHX's 5-year performance has produced a negative alpha of -2.16, which means 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, HBGHX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.16% compared to the category average of 1.30%. From a cost perspective, HBGHX is actually cheaper than its peers.
This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $0, while there is no minimum for each subsequent investment.
Bottom Line
Overall, Hartford Healthcare Fund HLS IB ( HBGHX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a somewhat average choice for investors right now.
Your research on the Mutual Fund Equity Report 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. For analysis of the rest of your portfolio, make sure to visit Zacks.com for our full suite of tools which will help you investigate all of your stocks and funds in one place.
See More Zacks Research for These Tickers
Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:
Image: Bigstock
Is Hartford Healthcare Fund HLS IB (HBGHX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
Have you been searching for a Mutual Fund Equity Report fund? You might want to begin with Hartford Healthcare Fund HLS IB (HBGHX - Free Report) . HBGHX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
History of Fund/Manager
Hartford is based in Woodbury, MN, and is the manager of HBGHX. Since Hartford Healthcare Fund HLS IB made its debut in October of 2002, HBGHX has garnered more than $31.16 million in assets. The fund's current manager is a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. HBGHX has a 5-year annualized total return of 7.39% and it sits in the bottom third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 9.37%, 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. The standard deviation of HBGHX over the past three years is 17.78% compared to the category average of 17.33%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 17.25% compared to the category average of 16.06%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
The fund has a 5-year beta of 0.83, so investors should note that it is hypothetically less volatile than the market at large. Because alpha represents a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which is the S&P 500 in this case, one should pay attention to this metric as well. HBGHX's 5-year performance has produced a negative alpha of -2.16, which means 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, HBGHX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.16% compared to the category average of 1.30%. From a cost perspective, HBGHX is actually cheaper than its peers.
This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $0, while there is no minimum for each subsequent investment.
Bottom Line
Overall, Hartford Healthcare Fund HLS IB ( HBGHX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a somewhat average choice for investors right now.
Your research on the Mutual Fund Equity Report 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. For analysis of the rest of your portfolio, make sure to visit Zacks.com for our full suite of tools which will help you investigate all of your stocks and funds in one place.