Having trouble finding a Sector – Health fund? Hartford Healthcare Fund HLS IA (HIAHX) is a possible starting point. HIAHX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
Zacks categorizes HIAHX as Sector – Health, a segment packed with options. Sector – Health mutual funds offer investors a focus on the healthcare industry, one of the largest sectors in the American economy. These funds can include everything from pharmaceutical companies to medical device manufacturers and for-profit hospitals.
History of Fund/Manager
HIAHX is a part of the Hartford family of funds, a company based out of Woodbury, MN. Since Hartford Healthcare Fund HLS IA made its debut in December of 2001, HIAHX has garnered more than $89.24 million in assets. The fund’s current manager, Rebecca D. Sykes, has been in charge of the fund since September of 2020.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 3.81%, and is in the bottom 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 9.04%, 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. HIAHX’s standard deviation over the past three years is 14.11% compared to the category average of 13.2%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 14.91% compared to the category average of 14.58%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
The fund has a 5-year beta of 0.66, so investors should note that it is hypothetically less volatile than the market at large. Another factor to consider is alpha, as it reflects a portfolio’s performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark-in this case, the S&P 500. With a negative alpha of -5.69, managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
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, HIAHX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.94% compared to the category average of 1.03%. So, HIAHX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.