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Is SPHIX a Strong Bond Fund Right Now?

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Any investors hoping to find a Mutual Fund Bond fund might consider looking past Fidelity High Income (SPHIX - Free Report) . SPHIX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 5 (Strong Sell), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

History of Fund/Manager

SPHIX is a part of the Fidelity family of funds, a company based out of Boston, MA. Since Fidelity High Income made its debut in August of 1990, SPHIX has garnered more than $2.40 billion in assets. The fund is currently managed by a team of investment professionals.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. SPHIX has a 5-year annualized total return of 3.76% 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 0.59%, 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 13.38%, the standard deviation of SPHIX over the past three years is 8.82%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 9.49% compared to the category average of 14.2%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

With a beta of 0.17, this fund is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, SPHIX has a positive alpha of 2.83, which measures performance on a risk-adjusted basis.

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, SPHIX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.64% compared to the category average of 0.96%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, SPHIX is actually cheaper than its peers.

Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $0 and that 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, even with its comparatively weak performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Fidelity High Income ( SPHIX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and therefore looks a somewhat weak choice for investors right now.

Don't stop here for your research on Mutual Fund Bond funds. We also have plenty more on our site in order to help you find the best possible fund for your portfolio. Make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for more information about the world of funds, and feel free to compare SPHIX to its peers 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.


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