In this article, we'll be reviewing Hartford Mutual Funds, which is a very well-known name in the insurance industry too. The insurance and investment services industry is skilled at managing money, which means there is a good fit for these same companies to offer investors the opportunity to purchase mutual funds too.
Hartford Family of Funds
Hartford Mutual Funds is part of The Hartford, which is a leading provider of investment products such as life insurance, automobile and homeowners insurance. Founded in 1810, Hartford is headquartered out of Hartford, Connecticut (Where else?). The company claims to have millions of customers serviced by its network of 11,000 independent agents, and over 100,000 registered brokers.
The Hartford family of mutual funds offers investors the opportunity to work with Wellington Management Company, which is one of the oldest and largest independent investment firms in America. Hartford offers investors a complete array of products including online account access, 401(k) plans, Roth IRAs, 529 college savings plans, mutual funds, as well as life insurance. Hartford's family of mutual funds currently has around $117.3 billion in investor assets under its management. (October 2019)
Fee Structure and Returns
Morningstar ratings indicate the expense ratio for all mutual funds at Hartford received an Average rating, including domestic (1.02%), international (1.16%), taxable bond funds (0.92%), and municipal bond funds (0.61%). Hartford's mutual funds are heavily weighted towards domestic stock funds (53.95% of assets), with taxable bonds a distant second (12.62%).
Hartford is one of the few mutual fund families reviewed that does not require a minimum investment for some of its funds, however, lower balances sometimes attract an additional account maintenance fee, usually in the range of $15 to $50 annually. Hartford offers investors a mix of mutual funds with a front load (31.92% of assets) and no-load mutual funds (68.08%). As of October 2019, the average return on the family of funds offered by Hartford was 9.79% over the last five years.
Top Rated Hartford Mutual Funds
The top rated mutual funds at Hartford contains a mix of large growth stocks as well as value stocks. All funds are no load funds, while minimum investments range from $0 to $250,000. That said, below is a list of the top rated funds from Hartford:
Hartford International Value Fund Class I (HILIX)
Assets: $2.3 billion
Category: Large Value
Specialty: Foreign Large Value
Top Three Holdings: Total SA, HSBC Holdings PLC, and Royal Dutch Shell PLC
Load: None
Minimum Investment: $0
Expense Ratio: 0.90%
5-Year Average Return: 5.55%
Hartford Core Equity (HGIYX)
Assets: $5.5 billion
Category: Large Blend
Specialty: None
Top Three Holdings: Microsoft Corp, Apple Inc, and Alphabet Inc A
Load: None
Minimum Investment: $250,000
Expense Ratio: 0.45%
5-Year Average Return: 15.36%
Hartford Disciplined Equity (HIAGX)
Assets: $615.8 million
Category: Large Blend
Specialty: None
Top Three Holdings: Microsoft Corp, Alphabet Inc, Apple Inc
Load: None
Minimum Investment: $0
Expense Ratio: 0.78%
5-Year Average Return: 13.15%