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Is Akre Focus Retail (AKREX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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If you have been looking for Mutual Fund Equity Report funds, it would not be wise to start your search with Akre Focus Retail (AKREX - Free Report) . AKREX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 5 (Strong 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 $4.36 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
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 10.6%, and it sits in the middle third among its category peers. But if you are looking for a shorter time frame, it is also worth looking at its 3-year annualized total return of 4.31%, 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 16.67%, the standard deviation of AKREX over the past three years is 20.38%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 19.14% compared to the category average of 17.32%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
Investors should not forget about beta, an important way to measure a mutual fund's risk compared to the market as a whole. AKREX has a 5-year beta of 0.93, which means it is likely to be less volatile than the market average. Another factor to consider is alpha, as it reflects a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark-in this case, the S&P 500. The fund has produced a positive alpha over the past 5 years of 0.31, which shows that managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
Expenses
As competition heats up in the mutual fund market, costs become increasingly important. Compared to its otherwise identical counterpart, a low-cost product will be an outperformer, all other things being equal. Thus, taking a closer look at cost-related metrics is vital for investors. In terms of fees, AKREX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.31% compared to the category average of 0.99%. So, AKREX is actually more expensive than its peers from a cost perspective.
Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $2,000; each subsequent investment needs to be at least $250.
Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Bottom Line
Overall, Akre Focus Retail ( AKREX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and higher fees, Akre Focus Retail ( AKREX ) looks like a somewhat weak choice for investors right now.
Want even more information about AKREX? Then go over to Zacks.com and check out our mutual fund comparison tool, and all of the other great features that we have to help you with your mutual fund analysis for additional information. If you are more of a stock investor, make sure to also check out our Zacks Rank, and our full suite of tools we have available for novice and professional investors alike.
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Is Akre Focus Retail (AKREX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
If you have been looking for Mutual Fund Equity Report funds, it would not be wise to start your search with Akre Focus Retail (AKREX - Free Report) . AKREX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 5 (Strong 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 $4.36 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
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 10.6%, and it sits in the middle third among its category peers. But if you are looking for a shorter time frame, it is also worth looking at its 3-year annualized total return of 4.31%, 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 16.67%, the standard deviation of AKREX over the past three years is 20.38%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 19.14% compared to the category average of 17.32%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
Investors should not forget about beta, an important way to measure a mutual fund's risk compared to the market as a whole. AKREX has a 5-year beta of 0.93, which means it is likely to be less volatile than the market average. Another factor to consider is alpha, as it reflects a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark-in this case, the S&P 500. The fund has produced a positive alpha over the past 5 years of 0.31, which shows that managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
Expenses
As competition heats up in the mutual fund market, costs become increasingly important. Compared to its otherwise identical counterpart, a low-cost product will be an outperformer, all other things being equal. Thus, taking a closer look at cost-related metrics is vital for investors. In terms of fees, AKREX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.31% compared to the category average of 0.99%. So, AKREX is actually more expensive than its peers from a cost perspective.
Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $2,000; each subsequent investment needs to be at least $250.
Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Bottom Line
Overall, Akre Focus Retail ( AKREX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and higher fees, Akre Focus Retail ( AKREX ) looks like a somewhat weak choice for investors right now.
Want even more information about AKREX? Then go over to Zacks.com and check out our mutual fund comparison tool, and all of the other great features that we have to help you with your mutual fund analysis for additional information. If you are more of a stock investor, make sure to also check out our Zacks Rank, and our full suite of tools we have available for novice and professional investors alike.