CTVAX vs IHY Fund Comparison

A comparison between CTVAX and IHY based on their expense ratio, growth, holdings and how well they match their benchmark performance.

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Minafi's Take on CTVAX vs IHY

Here's an in depth look at the differences between Catalyst Small Cap Insider Buying Fund Class A ($CTVAX) and VanEck Vectors International High Yield Bond ETF ($IHY).

To start off, here's a look at the basics of each fund. Keep an eye on the FI Score. That's a custom score from 0 to 100 that we generate based on how good this fund is for the casual investor. Most investors only need a handful of total funds in their portfolio. The higher the score, the more likely this is one of those few. Score alone isn't enough! Keep reading on to see how different (or perhaps similar) these two funds are.

11% FI Score
  • ctvax
  • Mutual Fund
  • US Stocks
  • Small Growth

Catalyst Small Cap Insider Buying Fund Class A

Expenses: 1.77% (Better than 0% of similar funds)

This is a bad choice for a Small Growth US Stocks fund. See why »

47% FI Score
  • ihy
  • ETF
  • Bond
  • High Yield Bond

VanEck Vectors International High Yield Bond ETF

Expenses: 0.40% (Better than 1% of similar funds)

This is a bad choice for a High Yield Bond Bond fund. See why »

$CTVAX is classified as a Mutual Fund while $IHY is classified as an ETF. Even though one of these is a mutual fund and the other is an ETF, that doesn't matter too much for their holdings. Both ETFs and mutual funds are just containers to hold lots of investments inside of them.

The biggest differences between these two is where they may be offered. ETFs are more widely availble from a larger number of investment apps and websites. Mutual funds, on the other hand, are generally offered by the platform they're issued by (Fidelity funds on Fidelity, Vanguard funds on Vanguard). Usually 401(k)'s will offer both ETFs and Mutual Funds. If you're investing outside of a 401(k), I'd recommend you verify the fees associated with ETF and mutual fund transactions. Some platforms charge an additional fee to purchase a mutual fund.

To learn more about the difference between these two, you can read about the difference between ETFs and Mutual Funds.

When evaluating a fund, the first things I look at are:

  • What it invests in
  • How much it charges in fees
  • How large the fund is

Let's look into these criteria one by one and see if either of these funds stands out.

Fund Holdings Comparison

Minafi's FI Score algorithm takes into account the category and market. The more niche a fund is, the lower the score. This doesn't mean it's a worse fund, but it does mean you should stop and make sure this a fund you need to diversify your portfolio.

CTVAX IHY
Market Score 0.1 /10 2.6 /10
Category Score 5.0 /10 0.0 /10
Total 5.1 2.6

A score of 10 means this is a solid market and category that almost every investor will want to have investments in. The lower the score, the more specific the investment. These scores are based on when most investors would add these funds to their portfolio. A score of 10 means that this fund (or one like it) belongs in a three-fund portfolio. The lower the score, the farther down in your portfolio a fund would go.

Winner: $CTVAX

Fee Comparison

Fees are one of the biggest killers of portfolio growth. The difference between a 2% fee and a 0.04% fee over 30 years can result in your portfolio having half the total value!

If you're just getting started investing and learning how fees impact your portfolio, I'd encourage you to read through my free investment course (specifically '2.2 - All About Fees') where I go over all the different types of fees you can be charged and how to lower them.

For these two funds, CTVAX has an expense ratio of 1.77% while IHY has an expense ratio of 0.40%.

Winner: $IHY

Fund Size Comparison

Both CTVAX and IHY have a similar number of assets under management. CTVAX has 7.3 Million in assets under management, while IHY has 92.7 Million.

Minafi categorizes both of these funds as small funds. Fund size is a good indication of how many other investors trust this fund. A large fund by itself doesn't mean it's a good fund, but it is one thing to consider when figuring out how to choose the right fund.

Winner: tie

Which Should You Choose? CTVAX or IHY?

Comparing these two funds isn't an apples to apples comparison. CTVAX is a US Stocks Small Growth fund, while IHY is a Bond High Yield Bond fund.

If you're aiming to build a diversified, low-fee, tax-optimized portfolio you likely won't be choosing between these two funds since they're different enough.

Running both of these funds through Minafi's FI Score algorithm, gives CTVAX a score of 11 and IHY a score of 47.

Winner: Neither, I'd research more funds if you're looking to invest for retirement.

$CTVAX

Catalyst Small Cap Insider Buying Fund Class A

11

Read More
Ratings
Rating Type Rating
Expense Ratio Score 2 /10
Expense Rating 0 /10
Market Score 0 /10
Category Score 5 /10
Overview
Overview Details
Fund Type Mutual Fund
Inception Date Jul-31-2006
Exchange NMFQS
Expense Ratio 1.770%
Net Assets 7.3 Million
Yield 0.00%
Holdings
Description Info
Market US Stocks
Category Small Growth
Sectors
  • Basic Materials 0.00%
  • Communication Services 0.00%
  • Consumer Cyclical 1.63%
  • Consumer Defensive 0.00%
  • Energy 0.00%
  • Financial Services 0.00%
  • Healthcare 3.61%
  • Industrials 1.68%
  • Real Estate 81.08%
  • Technology 11.99%
  • Utilities 0.00%
Regions
  • North America 100.00%

$IHY

VanEck Vectors International High Yield Bond ETF

47

Read More
Ratings
Rating Type Rating
Diversification Score 0 /10
Expense Ratio Score 9 /10
Expense Rating 6 /10
Market Score 3 /10
Category Score 0 /10
Overview
Overview Details
Fund Type ETF
Inception Date Apr-2-2012
Exchange NYSE ARCA
Expense Ratio 0.400%
Net Assets 92.7 Million
Yield 5.43%
Holdings
Description Info
Market Bond
Category High Yield Bond
Sectors
  • Basic Materials 0.00%
  • Communication Services 0.00%
  • Consumer Cyclicals 0.00%
  • Consumer Defensive 0.00%
  • Energy 1.01%
  • Financial Services 98.99%
  • Healthcare 0.00%
  • Industrials 0.00%
  • Real Estate 0.00%
  • Technology 0.00%
  • Utilities 0.00%
Regions
  • North America 1.01%
  • United Kingdom 98.99%

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