Having trouble finding a Sector – Health fund? Janus Henderson Global Life Science A (JFNAX) is a potential starting point. JFNAX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
The world of Sector – Health funds is an area filled with options, such as JFNAX. Healthcare is one of the biggest sectors of the American economy, and Sector – Health mutual funds provide a great opportunity to invest in this industry. Here, funds can include everything from for-profit hospitals to pharmaceutical companies and medical device manufacturers.
JFNAX finds itself in the Janus Fund family, based out of Boston, MA. Janus Henderson Global Life Science A made its debut in July of 2009, and since then, JFNAX has accumulated about $301.01 million in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund is currently managed by Andy Acker who has been in charge of the fund since July of 2009.
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 8.51%, and is in the top third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 11.11%, 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. Compared to the category average of 12.14%, the standard deviation of JFNAX over the past three years is 15.11%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 15.18% compared to the category average of 13.73%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Investors should note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 0.64, so it is likely going to be less volatile than the market at large. Alpha is an additional metric to take into consideration, since it represents a portfolio’s performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which in this case, is the S&P 500. JFNAX’s 5-year performance has produced a negative alpha of -1.62, which means managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
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, JFNAX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.00% compared to the category average of 0.97%. JFNAX is actually more expensive than its peers when you consider factors like cost.
Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $2,500; each subsequent investment has no minimum amount.
Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into consideration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Overall, even with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and higher fees, Janus Henderson Global Life Science A ( JFNAX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and therefore looks a good potential choice for investors right now.
This could just be the start of your research on JFNAX in the Sector – Health 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. If you are more of a stock investor, make sure to also check out our Zacks Rank, and our full suite of tools we have available for novice and professional investors alike.
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).