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There are plenty of choices in the Mutual Fund Bond category, but where should you start your research? Well, one fund that you should consider investigating is Federated Institutional High Yield Bond (FIHBX - Free Report) . FIHBX has 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
Federated is based in Pittsburgh, PA, and is the manager of FIHBX. Federated Institutional High Yield Bond debuted in November of 2002. Since then, FIHBX has accumulated assets of about $5.59 billion, according to the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by Mark E. Durbiano who has been in charge of the fund since November of 2002.
Performance
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 2.92%, and is 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 2.26%, 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. FIHBX's standard deviation over the past three years is 8.24% compared to the category average of 11.07%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 9.05% compared to the category average of 12.04%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
This fund has a beta of 0.37, meaning that it is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, FIHBX has a positive alpha of 2.28, 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, FIHBX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.49% compared to the category average of 0.98%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, FIHBX is actually cheaper than its peers.
Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $1 million; each subsequent investment has no minimum amount.
Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Bottom Line
Overall, Federated Institutional High Yield Bond ( FIHBX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a somewhat average choice for investors right now.
Want even more information about FIHBX? 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. 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.
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Is FIHBX a Strong Bond Fund Right Now?
There are plenty of choices in the Mutual Fund Bond category, but where should you start your research? Well, one fund that you should consider investigating is Federated Institutional High Yield Bond (FIHBX - Free Report) . FIHBX has 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
Federated is based in Pittsburgh, PA, and is the manager of FIHBX. Federated Institutional High Yield Bond debuted in November of 2002. Since then, FIHBX has accumulated assets of about $5.59 billion, according to the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by Mark E. Durbiano who has been in charge of the fund since November of 2002.
Performance
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 2.92%, and is 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 2.26%, 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. FIHBX's standard deviation over the past three years is 8.24% compared to the category average of 11.07%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 9.05% compared to the category average of 12.04%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
This fund has a beta of 0.37, meaning that it is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, FIHBX has a positive alpha of 2.28, 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, FIHBX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.49% compared to the category average of 0.98%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, FIHBX is actually cheaper than its peers.
Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $1 million; each subsequent investment has no minimum amount.
Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Bottom Line
Overall, Federated Institutional High Yield Bond ( FIHBX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a somewhat average choice for investors right now.
Want even more information about FIHBX? 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. 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.