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Is Value Line Income & Growth Investor (VALIX) 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 Value Line Income & Growth Investor (VALIX - Free Report) . VALIX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 4 (Sell), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
History of Fund/Manager
VALIX finds itself in the Value Line family, based out of New York, NY. The Value Line Income & Growth Investor made its debut in October of 1952 and VALIX has managed to accumulate roughly $293.77 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. Liane Rosenberg is the fund's current manager and has held that role since May of 2011.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 4.24%, and is 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 3.04%, which places it in the bottom 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. Over the past three years, VALIX's standard deviation comes in at 21.4%, compared to the category average of 17.43%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 19.45% compared to the category average of 15.47%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
With a 5-year beta of 0.99, the fund is likely to be as volatile as 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. VALIX's 5-year performance has produced a negative alpha of -4.24, which means managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
Holdings
Examining the equity holdings of a mutual fund is also a valuable exercise. This can show us how the manager is applying their stated methodology, as well as if there are any inherent biases in their approach. For this particular fund, the focus is largely on equities that are traded in the United States.
Currently, this mutual fund is holding 95.69% stock in stocks, with an average market capitalization of $207.31 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
Technology
Other
Finance
Turnover is 60%, which means this fund makes fewer trades than the average comparable fund.
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, VALIX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.08% compared to the category average of 0.86%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, VALIX is actually more expensive than its peers.
Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $1,000 and that each subsequent investment has no minimum amount.
Bottom Line
Overall, Value Line Income & Growth Investor ( VALIX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and higher fees, this fund looks like a somewhat weak choice for investors right now.
Want even more information about VALIX? 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. Want to learn even more? We have a full suite of tools on stocks that you can use to find the best choices for your portfolio too, no matter what kind of investor you are.
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Is Value Line Income & Growth Investor (VALIX) 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 Value Line Income & Growth Investor (VALIX - Free Report) . VALIX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 4 (Sell), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
History of Fund/Manager
VALIX finds itself in the Value Line family, based out of New York, NY. The Value Line Income & Growth Investor made its debut in October of 1952 and VALIX has managed to accumulate roughly $293.77 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. Liane Rosenberg is the fund's current manager and has held that role since May of 2011.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 4.24%, and is 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 3.04%, which places it in the bottom 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. Over the past three years, VALIX's standard deviation comes in at 21.4%, compared to the category average of 17.43%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 19.45% compared to the category average of 15.47%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
With a 5-year beta of 0.99, the fund is likely to be as volatile as 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. VALIX's 5-year performance has produced a negative alpha of -4.24, which means managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
Holdings
Examining the equity holdings of a mutual fund is also a valuable exercise. This can show us how the manager is applying their stated methodology, as well as if there are any inherent biases in their approach. For this particular fund, the focus is largely on equities that are traded in the United States.
Currently, this mutual fund is holding 95.69% stock in stocks, with an average market capitalization of $207.31 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
- Technology
- Other
- Finance
Turnover is 60%, which means this fund makes fewer trades than the average comparable fund.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, VALIX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.08% compared to the category average of 0.86%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, VALIX is actually more expensive than its peers.
Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $1,000 and that each subsequent investment has no minimum amount.
Bottom Line
Overall, Value Line Income & Growth Investor ( VALIX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and higher fees, this fund looks like a somewhat weak choice for investors right now.
Want even more information about VALIX? 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. Want to learn even more? We have a full suite of tools on stocks that you can use to find the best choices for your portfolio too, no matter what kind of investor you are.