Yahoo Finance Is GHYAX a Strong Bond Fund Right Now?
Any investors hoping to find a Muni - Bonds fund could think about starting with Goldman Sachs High Yield Municipals A (GHYAX). GHYAX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
We classify GHYAX in the Muni - Bonds category, an area rife with potential choices. Muni - Bonds funds focus their investments on debt securities issued by state and local governments. These are typically used to pay for the construction of infrastructure, the operation of public schools, and other municipal functions. These securities can come in the form of revenue bonds, which are backed by taxes, as well as " general obligation " bonds that are not backed by a defined source. Investors are usually interested that come with most municipal bonds, which can be especially important for those in higher tax brackets.
History of Fund/Manager
Goldman Sachs is based in New York, NY, and is the manager of GHYAX. The Goldman Sachs High Yield Municipals A made its debut in April of 2000 and GHYAX has managed to accumulate roughly $393.06 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund's current manager is a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. GHYAX has a 5-year annualized total return of 1.21% and is in the middle 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 -1.92%, which places it in the middle 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. GHYAX's standard deviation over the past three years is 9.53% compared to the category average of 13.37%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 9.52% compared to the category average of 14.1%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
This fund has a beta of 0.99, meaning that it is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, GHYAX has a positive alpha of 0.94, which measures performance on a risk-adjusted basis.
Ratings
However, it is worth noting that 43 % of the bonds in this fund are not ranked, so take the average quality level with a bit of caution.
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, GHYAX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.85% compared to the category average of 0.94%. GHYAX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.
While the minimum initial investment for the product is $1,000, investors should also note that each subsequent investment needs to be at least $50.
Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Bottom Line
Overall, Goldman Sachs High Yield Municipals A ( GHYAX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Goldman Sachs High Yield Municipals A ( GHYAX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
This could just be the start of your research on GHYAXin the Muni - Bonds category. Consider going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for additional information about this fund, and all the others that we rank as well for additional information. And don't forget, Zacks has all of your needs covered on the equity side too! Make sure to check out Zacks.com for more information on our screening capabilities, Rank, and all our articles as well.
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