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Is HSNAX a Strong Bond Fund Right Now?

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Having trouble finding a Mutual Fund Bond fund? Hartford Strategic Income A (HSNAX - Free Report) is a possible starting point. HSNAX 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 responsible for HSNAX, and the company is based out of Woodbury, MN. Hartford Strategic Income A made its debut in May of 2007, and since then, HSNAX has accumulated about $262.24 million in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund's current manager is a team of investment professionals.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 0.43%, and it sits in the middle third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of -2%, 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 HSNAX over the past three years is 9.33% compared to the category average of 15.75%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 7.51% compared to the category average of 13.76%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

This fund has a beta of 0.51, meaning that it is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, HSNAX has a positive alpha of 0.93, which measures performance on a risk-adjusted basis.

Ratings

Investors should also consider a bond's rating, which is a grade ( 'AAA' to 'D' ) given to a bond that indicates its credit quality. With this letter scale in mind, HSNAX has 22.71% in high quality bonds rated at least 'AA' or higher, while its junk bond component-bonds rated 'BB' or below-is at 44.62%. This means that the fund has an average quality of BBB, and focuses on medium quality securities.

Expenses

As competition heats up in the mutual fund market, costs become increasingly important. Compared to its otherwise identical counterpart, a low-cost product will be an outperformer, all other things being equal. Thus, taking a closer look at cost-related metrics is vital for investors. In terms of fees, HSNAX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.91% compared to the category average of 0.83%. HSNAX is actually more expensive than its peers when you consider factors like cost.

While the minimum initial investment for the product is $2,000, investors should also note that each subsequent investment needs to be at least $50.

Bottom Line

Overall, Hartford Strategic Income A ( HSNAX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, better downside risk, and higher fees, Hartford Strategic Income A ( HSNAX ) looks like 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. Want to learn even more? We have a full suite of tools on stocks that you can use to find the best choices for your portfolio too, no matter what kind of investor you are.


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