Fund Evaluator:
Hennessy Balanced Investor (HBFBX)
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Best Performing in Moderately Conservative Allocation Over the Last Year
| 14.4% | Hennessy Balanced Investor (HBFBX) |
| 14.4% | Fidelity Strategic Real Return (FSRRX) |
| 14.3% | Fidelity Advisor Strategic Real Ret Z (FIQDX) |
| 12.8% | Fairholme Focused Income (FOCIX) |
| 12.4% | Victory Growth and Tax Strategy (USBLX) |
Fund Details
Hennessy Balanced Investor Overview
Hennessy Balanced Investor (HBFBX) is an actively managed Allocation Moderately Conservative Allocation fund. Hennessy launched the fund in 1996.
The investment seeks a combination of capital appreciation and current income. The fund invests approximately 50% of its assets in roughly equal dollar amounts in the 10 highest dividend-yielding Dow Jones Industrial Average ("DJIA") stocks (known as the "Dogs of the Dow"), but limits exposure to market risk and volatility by investing approximately 50% of its assets in U.S. Treasury securities with a maturity of less than one year. It is non-diversified.
About Hennessy Balanced Investor (HBFBX)
There are 3 members of the management team with an average tenure of 15.34 years: Ryan Kelley (2018), L. Wein (2019), Neil Hennessy (1996). Management tenure is more important for actively managed funds than passive index funds.
The fund has 3 primary benchmarks: DJ Industrial Average TR USD index with a weighting of 100%, DJ Industrial Average TR USD index with a weighting of 50% and ICE BofA 1-Y US Trsy Note TR USD index with a weighting of 50%. Hennessy Balanced Investor has 18 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 78.7% of the fund’s assets. The fund meets the SEC requirement of being classified as a nondiversified fund. The fund is not considered to have an ESG focus with its investment selection and management.
Hennessy Balanced Investor is part of the Allocation global asset class and is within the Allocation fund group. Hennessy Balanced Investor has 0.0% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 50.4%. There is 0.0% allocated to foreign stock, and 0.0% is allocated to preferred stocks. The bond allocation as a percentage of total assets is 34.7% (34.7% domestic bond, 0.0% foreign bond and 0.0% convertible bond). Hennessy Balanced Investor has 14.9% of the portfolio in cash.
Assets Under Management
The fund has $13 million in total assets, which is below the $561 million average for the Moderately Conservative Allocation category. Normally, lower assets under management translates to higher average expense ratios, and greater total assets are desired. However, for some investment categories, such as small-cap investing, it may be difficult for the manager to fully employ the desired active strategy if assets grow too large or too quickly.
HBFBX Performance and Fees
The expense ratio measures how much of a fund’s assets are used for administrative expenses and operating expenses, including adviser fees and fees for the transfer agent and custodial services. The Hennessy Balanced Investor expense ratio is high compared to funds in the Moderately Conservative Allocation category. Hennessy Balanced Investor has an expense ratio of 1.88%, which is 87% higher than its category average, making the fund expense ratio grade a F. While it is difficult to predict returns, it is known that high annual expense ratios reduce your rate of return, and excessive fees are difficult to overcome. Active management normally comes with higher expense ratios than passive index management. Certain investment categories such as small company and foreign also normally have higher expense ratios. It is best to compare fund expense ratios against the category averages for meaningful assessments.
High portfolio turnover can translate to higher expenses and lower aftertax returns. Hennessy Balanced Investor has a portfolio turnover rate of 39%, indicating that holds its assets around 0.0 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 43% for the Moderately Conservative Allocation category.
Recently, in the month of July 2026, Hennessy Balanced Investor returned 1.4%, which earned it a grade of A, as the Moderately Conservative Allocation category had an average return of -0.3%. The letter grades of A, B, C, D and F are based upon relative rankings within the investment category. A grade of A, for example, would indicate that the return is in the highest 20% for that time period compared to all funds in that category.
Hennessy Balanced Investor has a trailing yield of 1.66%, which is below the 3.29% category average. The fund normally distributes its income quarterly and its capital gains annually.
It’s natural to seek the best-performing investments, but you must consider the relationship between risk and return and the impact of costs and taxes on your realized returns.
Hennessy Balanced Investor Grades
Year to date, the fund has returned 8.1%, 3.4 percentage points better than the category, which translates into a grade of A. The fund has returned 14.4% over the past year (grade of A), 8.3% over the past three years (grade of D) and 5.2% per year over the past five years (grade of B) and 5.0% per year over the past 10 years (grade of F).
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HBFBX Trailing NAV Total Returns Data as of 7/31/26
| Last Month |
Last Quarter |
Ann'l. 1Yr |
Ann'l. 3Yr |
Ann'l. 5Yr |
Ann'l. 10Yr |
|
| HBFBX Return (NAV) | 1.4% | 4.2% | 14.4% | 8.3% | 5.2% | 5.0% |
| HBFBX Grade | A | A | A | D | B | F |
| +/- Category | 1.8% | 3.0% | 4.1% | -1.1% | 0.6% | -1.0% |
| Moderately Conservative Allocation Avg | -0.3% | 1.2% | 10.4% | 9.4% | 4.6% | 6.0% |
| HBFBX Tax Cost Ratio | na | na | 0.7% | 1.0% | 1.1% | 1.2% |
HBFBX Annual NAV Total ReturnsData as of 7/31/26
| 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | |
| HBFBX Return (NAV) | 8.1% | 9.9% | 3.2% | 5.2% | -1.2% | 8.0% | -3.0% | 9.7% | 0.1% | 8.3% | 9.2% |
| HBFBX Grade | A | F | F | F | A | D | F | F | A | F | B |
| +/- Category | 3.4% | -1.6% | -5.1% | -4.8% | 10.6% | -2.0% | -11.0% | -5.9% | 4.4% | -1.5% | 0.7% |
| Moderately Conservative Allocation Avg | 4.8% | 11.5% | 8.3% | 10.0% | -11.8% | 10.0% | 8.1% | 15.6% | -4.3% | 9.8% | 8.5% |
| Risk Measures | |
| Standard Deviation: | 6.2% |
| Total Risk Index: | 0.50 - Below Average |
| Category Risk Index: | 0.84 - Low |
| Category Risk Grade: | A (7% Rank) |
| Beta: | 0.46 |
| R-Squared: | 48% |
| Leveraged Fund: | No |
| Inverse Fund: | No |
| Portfolio Characteristics | |
| Equity Investment Style: | Large-Cap Value |
| Bond Investment Style: | na |
| Yield: | 1.7% |
| Dividend Distribution: | Quarterly |
| Cap Gains Distribution: | Annually |
| Total Assets: | $13 Mil |
| Fund Total Assets: | $ 14 Mil |
| Share Class Type: | Inv |
| Portfolio Turnover: | 39% |
Management Team
| Number of Managers: 3 | |||
| Longest Tenure: 30.4 years | |||
| Average Tenure: 15.3 years | |||
| Managers (Year): Hennessy Neil (1996), Kelley Ryan (2018), Wein L. (2019) | |||
Portfolio Composition (as of 6/30/26)
| # of Holdings: | 18 |
| % in Top 10 Holdings: | 78.7% |
| Fund is Non-Diversified: | Yes |
| % in Foreign Issues: | 0.0% |
Portfolio Allocation |
|
| Domestic Stock: | 50.4% |
| Foreign Stock: | 0.0% |
| Preferred Stock: | 0.0% |
| Domestic Bond: | 34.7% |
| Foreign Bond: | 0.0% |
| Convertible Bond: | 0.0% |
| Other: | 0.0% |
| Cash: | 14.9% |
Purchase Information
| Fund Family: | Hennessy |
| Phone Number: | 800-966-4354 |
| Website: | www.hennessyfunds.com |
| Status: | Open |
| Inception Date: | March 8, 1996 |
| Min. Initial Purchase: | $2,500 |
| Min. Initial IRA Purchase: | $ 250 |
| True No-Load: | Yes |
| Front Load Maximum: | 0.00% |
| Deferred Charge Maximum: | 0.00% |
| Redemption Charge Maximum: | 0.00% |
| 12b-1 Fee: | 0.15% |
Expenses and Fees | |
| Expense Ratio (%): | 1.88% ( Rating : High ) |
| Category Average Expense Ratio (%): | 1.01% |
| Share Class: | Hennessy Balanced Investor |
| Min. Subsequent Purchase: | $ 0 |
| Min. Subsequent IRA Purchase: | $ 0 |
