If investors are looking at the High Yield - Bonds fund category, BlackRock High Yield Bond Services (BHYSX) could be a potential option. BHYSX 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 note that BHYSX is a High Yield - Bonds option, which is an area loaded with different investment choices. High Yield - Bonds funds are often known as " junk " bonds since they are below investment grade. This means they are at an elevated risk of default, at least when compared to their investment grade peers. On the plus side, junk bonds generally pay out higher yields, all while posing similar interest rate risks as we see with their investment grade counterparts.

History of Fund/Manager

BlackRock is based in New York, NY, and is the manager of BHYSX. Since BlackRock High Yield Bond Services made its debut in November of 1998, BHYSX has garnered more than $99.34 million in assets. The fund's current manager, Mitchell Garfin, has been in charge of the fund since December of 2009.

Performance

Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. BHYSX has a 5-year annualized total return of 4.26% 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 3.15%, 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 13.15%, the standard deviation of BHYSX over the past three years is 8.4%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 9.43% 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 0.16, meaning that it is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, BHYSX has a positive alpha of 4.42, 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, BHYSX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.85% compared to the category average of 0.94%. From a cost perspective, BHYSX is actually cheaper than its peers.