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Is Baron Emerging Markets Retail (BEXFX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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Having trouble finding a Mutual Fund Equity Report fund? Well, Baron Emerging Markets Retail (BEXFX - Free Report) would not be a good potential starting point right now. BEXFX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 5 (Strong Sell), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
History of Fund/Manager
Baron is based in New York, NY, and is the manager of BEXFX. Baron Emerging Markets Retail made its debut in December of 2010, and since then, BEXFX has accumulated about $324.10 million in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund's current manager, Michael Kass, has been in charge of the fund since December of 2010.
Performance
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. BEXFX has a 5-year annualized total return of -1.5% and is in the bottom 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 -1.11%, 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. Compared to the category average of 17.94%, the standard deviation of BEXFX over the past three years is 22.91%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 19.68% compared to the category average of 15.91%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
The fund has a 5-year beta of 0.74, 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. BEXFX has generated a negative alpha over the past five years of -8.48, demonstrating that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick 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, BEXFX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.38% compared to the category average of 1.15%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, BEXFX is actually more expensive than its peers.
Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $2,000; each subsequent investment has no minimum amount.
Bottom Line
Overall, Baron Emerging Markets Retail ( BEXFX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, average downside risk, and higher fees, Baron Emerging Markets Retail ( BEXFX ) looks like a somewhat weak choice for investors right now.
This could just be the start of your research on BEXFXin 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 Baron Emerging Markets Retail (BEXFX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
Having trouble finding a Mutual Fund Equity Report fund? Well, Baron Emerging Markets Retail (BEXFX - Free Report) would not be a good potential starting point right now. BEXFX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 5 (Strong Sell), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
History of Fund/Manager
Baron is based in New York, NY, and is the manager of BEXFX. Baron Emerging Markets Retail made its debut in December of 2010, and since then, BEXFX has accumulated about $324.10 million in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund's current manager, Michael Kass, has been in charge of the fund since December of 2010.
Performance
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. BEXFX has a 5-year annualized total return of -1.5% and is in the bottom 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 -1.11%, 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. Compared to the category average of 17.94%, the standard deviation of BEXFX over the past three years is 22.91%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 19.68% compared to the category average of 15.91%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
The fund has a 5-year beta of 0.74, 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. BEXFX has generated a negative alpha over the past five years of -8.48, demonstrating that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick 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, BEXFX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.38% compared to the category average of 1.15%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, BEXFX is actually more expensive than its peers.
Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $2,000; each subsequent investment has no minimum amount.
Bottom Line
Overall, Baron Emerging Markets Retail ( BEXFX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, average downside risk, and higher fees, Baron Emerging Markets Retail ( BEXFX ) looks like a somewhat weak choice for investors right now.
This could just be the start of your research on BEXFXin 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.