If investors are looking at the High Yield - Bonds fund category, Fidelity Series Floating Rate Hgh Income (FFHCX) could be a potential option. FFHCX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

FFHCX is classified in the High Yield - Bonds segment by Zacks, an area full of investment possibilities. High Yield - Bonds funds come in below investment grade, and are referred to as " junk " bonds for this reason. Compared to their investment grade peers, these funds are at a higher default risk, but typically pay out higher yields while posing similar interest rate risks.

History of Fund/Manager

Fidelity is based in Boston, MA, and is the manager of FFHCX. The Fidelity Series Floating Rate Hgh Income made its debut in October of 2011 and FFHCX has managed to accumulate roughly $245.34 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by a team of investment professionals.

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 6.12%, and it sits in the top 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 6.67%, which places it in the top 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. FFHCX's standard deviation over the past three years is 3.69% compared to the category average of 3.91%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 6.37% compared to the category average of 6.99%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

With a beta of -0.16, this fund is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, FFHCX has a positive alpha of 4.65, 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, FFHCX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.03% compared to the category average of 1.05%. From a cost perspective, FFHCX is actually cheaper than its peers.