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Is Akre Focus Retail (AKREX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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There are plenty of choices in the Mutual Fund Equity Report category, but where should you start your research? Well, one fund that may not be worth investigating is Akre Focus Retail (AKREX - Free Report) . AKREX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 4 (Sell), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
History of Fund/Manager
Akre is based in Middleburg, VA, and is the manager of AKREX. The Akre Focus Retail made its debut in August of 2009 and AKREX has managed to accumulate roughly $4.17 billion in assets, as of the most recently available information. John Neff is the fund's current manager and has held that role since August of 2014.
Performance
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 10.33%, and is in the top third among its category peers. If you're interested in shorter time frames, do not dismiss looking at the fund's 3-year annualized total return of 6.33%, which places it in the middle third during this time-frame.
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. The standard deviation of AKREX over the past three years is 22.52% compared to the category average of 19.67%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 18.94% compared to the category average of 17.12%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
The fund has a 5-year beta of 0.93, so investors should note that it is hypothetically 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. The fund has produced a positive alpha over the past 5 years of 1.23, which shows that managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
Expenses
Costs are increasingly important for mutual fund investing, and particularly as competition heats up in this market. And all things being equal, a lower cost product will outperform its otherwise identical counterpart, so taking a closer look at these metrics is key for investors. In terms of fees, AKREX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.30% compared to the category average of 0.99%. AKREX is actually more expensive than its peers when you consider factors like cost.
This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $2,000, and each subsequent investment should be at least $250.
Bottom Line
Overall, Akre Focus Retail ( AKREX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and higher fees, Akre Focus Retail ( AKREX ) looks like a poor potential choice for investors right now.
This could just be the start of your research on AKREXin the Mutual Fund Equity Report 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. And don't forget, Zacks has all of your needs covered on the equity side too! Make sure to check out Zacks.com for more information on our screening capabilities, Rank, and all our articles as well.
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Is Akre Focus Retail (AKREX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
There are plenty of choices in the Mutual Fund Equity Report category, but where should you start your research? Well, one fund that may not be worth investigating is Akre Focus Retail (AKREX - Free Report) . AKREX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 4 (Sell), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
History of Fund/Manager
Akre is based in Middleburg, VA, and is the manager of AKREX. The Akre Focus Retail made its debut in August of 2009 and AKREX has managed to accumulate roughly $4.17 billion in assets, as of the most recently available information. John Neff is the fund's current manager and has held that role since August of 2014.
Performance
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 10.33%, and is in the top third among its category peers. If you're interested in shorter time frames, do not dismiss looking at the fund's 3-year annualized total return of 6.33%, which places it in the middle third during this time-frame.
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. The standard deviation of AKREX over the past three years is 22.52% compared to the category average of 19.67%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 18.94% compared to the category average of 17.12%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
The fund has a 5-year beta of 0.93, so investors should note that it is hypothetically 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. The fund has produced a positive alpha over the past 5 years of 1.23, which shows that managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
Expenses
Costs are increasingly important for mutual fund investing, and particularly as competition heats up in this market. And all things being equal, a lower cost product will outperform its otherwise identical counterpart, so taking a closer look at these metrics is key for investors. In terms of fees, AKREX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.30% compared to the category average of 0.99%. AKREX is actually more expensive than its peers when you consider factors like cost.
This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $2,000, and each subsequent investment should be at least $250.
Bottom Line
Overall, Akre Focus Retail ( AKREX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and higher fees, Akre Focus Retail ( AKREX ) looks like a poor potential choice for investors right now.
This could just be the start of your research on AKREXin the Mutual Fund Equity Report 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. And don't forget, Zacks has all of your needs covered on the equity side too! Make sure to check out Zacks.com for more information on our screening capabilities, Rank, and all our articles as well.