There are plenty of choices in the High Yield - Bonds category, but where should you start your research? Well, one fund that might be worth investigating is American Funds High Income Trust A (AHITX). AHITX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

AHITX 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

American Funds is based in Los Angeles, CA, and is the manager of AHITX. American Funds High Income Trust A debuted in February of 1988. Since then, AHITX has accumulated assets of about $9.84 billion, according to 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 4.1%, and it sits in the top 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 2.29%, 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. Over the past three years, AHITX's standard deviation comes in at 7.82%, compared to the category average of 13.85%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 9.07% compared to the category average of 14.87%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

With a beta of 0.25, this fund is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, AHITX has a positive alpha of 4.03, which measures performance on a risk-adjusted basis.

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, AHITX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.72% compared to the category average of 0.95%. So, AHITX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.

Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $250 and that each subsequent investment needs to be at $50

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

Bottom Line

Overall, American Funds High Income Trust A ( AHITX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, better downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.

Don't stop here for your research on High Yield - Bonds 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 AHITX to its peers as well for additional information. Zacks provides a full suite of tools to help you analyze your portfolio - both funds and stocks - in the most efficient way possible.

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