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Is Bruce Fund (BRUFX) 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 might be worth investigating is Bruce Fund (BRUFX - Free Report) . BRUFX holds 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
Bruce is based in Chicago, IL, and is the manager of BRUFX. Since Bruce Fund made its debut in October of 1983, BRUFX has garnered more than $527.84 million in assets. The fund's current manager, Robert B. Bruce, has been in charge of the fund since December of 1983.
Performance
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. BRUFX has a 5-year annualized total return of 7.12% and it sits in the top 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 6.26%, 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. Over the past three years, BRUFX's standard deviation comes in at 12.9%, compared to the category average of 17.16%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 11.48% compared to the category average of 14.96%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
Investors should note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 0.54, so it is likely going to be less volatile than the market at large. Because alpha represents a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which is the S&P 500 in this case, one should pay attention to this metric as well. BRUFX has generated a positive alpha over the past five years of 1.19, demonstrating 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, BRUFX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.66% compared to the category average of 0.86%. BRUFX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.
Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $1,000; each subsequent investment needs to be at least $500.
Bottom Line
Overall, Bruce Fund ( BRUFX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Bruce Fund ( BRUFX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
For additional information on this product, or to compare it to other mutual funds in the Mutual Fund Equity Report, make sure to go to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds 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.
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Is Bruce Fund (BRUFX) 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 might be worth investigating is Bruce Fund (BRUFX - Free Report) . BRUFX holds 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
Bruce is based in Chicago, IL, and is the manager of BRUFX. Since Bruce Fund made its debut in October of 1983, BRUFX has garnered more than $527.84 million in assets. The fund's current manager, Robert B. Bruce, has been in charge of the fund since December of 1983.
Performance
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. BRUFX has a 5-year annualized total return of 7.12% and it sits in the top 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 6.26%, 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. Over the past three years, BRUFX's standard deviation comes in at 12.9%, compared to the category average of 17.16%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 11.48% compared to the category average of 14.96%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
Investors should note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 0.54, so it is likely going to be less volatile than the market at large. Because alpha represents a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which is the S&P 500 in this case, one should pay attention to this metric as well. BRUFX has generated a positive alpha over the past five years of 1.19, demonstrating 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, BRUFX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.66% compared to the category average of 0.86%. BRUFX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.
Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $1,000; each subsequent investment needs to be at least $500.
Bottom Line
Overall, Bruce Fund ( BRUFX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Bruce Fund ( BRUFX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
For additional information on this product, or to compare it to other mutual funds in the Mutual Fund Equity Report, make sure to go to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds 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.