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Is Rydex NASDAQ-100 2X Strategy A (RYVLX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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On the lookout for a Mutual Fund Equity Report fund? Starting with Rydex NASDAQ-100 2X Strategy A (RYVLX - Free Report) is one possibility. RYVLX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

History of Fund/Manager

Rydex is responsible for RYVLX, and the company is based out of Topeka, KS. Rydex NASDAQ-100 2X Strategy A debuted in June of 2005. Since then, RYVLX has accumulated assets of about $112.18 million, according to the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by Michael Byrum who has been in charge of the fund since June of 2005.

Performance

Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. RYVLX has a 5-year annualized total return of 50.78% and is in the top third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 58.91%, which places it in the top 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. Compared to the category average of 22.89%, the standard deviation of RYVLX over the past three years is 41.54%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 35.9% compared to the category average of 19.12%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

The fund has a 5-year beta of 2.16, so investors should note that it is hypothetically more 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. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a positive alpha of 9.46. This means 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, RYVLX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.84% compared to the category average of 0.78%. From a cost perspective, RYVLX is actually more expensive than its peers.

While the minimum initial investment for the product is $2,500, investors should also note that there is no minimum for each subsequent investment.

Bottom Line

Overall, Rydex NASDAQ-100 2X Strategy A ( RYVLX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, worse downside risk, and higher fees, Rydex NASDAQ-100 2X Strategy A ( RYVLX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.

This could just be the start of your research on RYVLXin 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. For analysis of the rest of your portfolio, make sure to visit Zacks.com for our full suite of tools which will help you investigate all of your stocks and funds in one place.


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