Is IHIFX a Strong Bond Fund Right Now?

Having trouble finding a High Yield - Bonds fund? Well, Macquarie High Income R6 (IHIFX) would not be a good potential starting point right now. IHIFX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 5 (Strong Sell), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

IHIFX is part of the High Yield - Bonds section, which is a segment that boasts many possible options. Often referred to as "junk" bonds,High Yield - Bonds funds sit below investment grade, meaning they are at a high default risk compared to their investment grade peers. However, one advantage to junk bonds is that they generally pay out higher yields while posing similar interest rate risks to their investment grade counterparts.

History of Fund/Manager

Nomura is based in New York, NY, and is the manager of IHIFX. Macquarie High Income R6 made its debut in July of 2014, and since then, IHIFX has accumulated about $27.50 million in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. John McCarthy is the fund's current manager and has held that role since November of 2021.

Performance

Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 2.28%, and is 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 5.62%, 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. Over the past three years, IHIFX's standard deviation comes in at 5.09%, compared to the category average of 9.84%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 7.3% compared to the category average of 11.72%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Bond Duration

Modified duration is a measure of a given bond's interest rate sensitivity, so when judging how fixed income securities will respond in a shifting rate environment, it is an excellent figure to look at.

If you believe interest rates will rise, this is an important factor to look at. IHIFX has a modified duration of 2.95, which suggests that the fund will decline 2.95% for every hundred-basis-point increase in interest rates.

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, IHIFX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.54% compared to the category average of 0.93%. So, IHIFX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.

This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $0, while there is no minimum for each subsequent investment.

Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into consideration. Returns would be less if those were included.

Bottom Line

Overall, even with its comparatively weak performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Macquarie High Income R6 ( IHIFX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and therefore looks a somewhat weak choice for investors right now.

Want even more information about IHIFX? 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. 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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