Mutual Fund Equity Report fund seekers should consider taking a look at ProFunds Biotech Ultra Sector Investor (BIPIX Quick QuoteBIPIX - Free Report) . BIPIX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

History of Fund/Manager

ProFunds is responsible for BIPIX, and the company is based out of Columbus, OH. ProFunds Biotech Ultra Sector Investor debuted in June of 2000. Since then, BIPIX has accumulated assets of about $118.74 million, according to the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by Michael Neches who has been in charge of the fund since October of 2013.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. BIPIX has a 5-year annualized total return of 6.53% and is in the middle 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 4.84%, which places it in the bottom 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 26.2%, the standard deviation of BIPIX over the past three years is 25.63%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 28.61% compared to the category average of 27.16%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

With a 5-year beta of 1.08, the fund is likely to be more volatile than the market average. 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. BIPIX has generated a negative alpha over the past five years of -3.77, demonstrating that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

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, BIPIX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.55% compared to the category average of 1.28%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, BIPIX is actually more expensive than its peers.

This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $15,000, while there is no minimum for each subsequent investment.

Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.

Bottom Line

Overall, even with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and higher fees, ProFunds Biotech Ultra Sector Investor ( BIPIX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and therefore looks a good potential choice for investors right now.

Don't stop here for your research on Mutual Fund Equity Report funds. We also have plenty more on our site in order to help you find the best possible fund for your portfolio. Make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for more information about the world of funds, and feel free to compare BIPIX to its peers as well for additional information. If you want to check out our stock reports as well, make sure to go to Zacks.com to see all of the great tools we have to offer, including our time-tested Zacks Rank.