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Is Manning & Napier Disciplined Value I (MNDFX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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On the lookout for a Mutual Fund Equity Report fund? Starting with Manning & Napier Disciplined Value I (MNDFX - Free Report) is one possibility. MNDFX has 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

MNDFX finds itself in the Manning & Napier family, based out of Columbus, OH. Manning & Napier Disciplined Value I debuted in November of 2008. Since then, MNDFX has accumulated assets of about $85.49 million, according to the most recently available information. The fund's current manager is a team of investment professionals.

Performance

Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 6.63%, 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 8.5%, which places it in the middle 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 18.27%, the standard deviation of MNDFX over the past three years is 20.3%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 18.19% compared to the category average of 16.01%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

With a 5-year beta of 0.9, the fund is likely to be less volatile than the market average. 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 negative alpha of -1.84. This means that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

Holdings

Exploring 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 mostly on equities that are traded in the United States.

Right now, 100% of this mutual fund's holdings are stocks, which have an average market capitalization of $144.88 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:

  • Industrial Cyclical
  • Technology
  • Health
  • Non-Durable
  • Retail Trade
This fund's turnover is about 31%, so the fund managers are making fewer trades than its comparable peers.

Expenses

For investors, taking a closer look at cost-related metrics is key, since costs are increasingly important for mutual fund investing. Competition is heating up in this space, and a lower cost product will likely outperform its otherwise identical counterpart, all things being equal. In terms of fees, MNDFX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.52% compared to the category average of 0.98%. So, MNDFX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.

This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $1 million, while there is no minimum for each subsequent investment.

Bottom Line

Overall, Manning & Napier Disciplined Value I ( MNDFX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Manning & Napier Disciplined Value I ( MNDFX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.

Don't stop here for your research on Mutual Fund Equity Report funds. We also have plenty more on our site in order to help you find the best possible fund for your portfolio. Make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for more information about the world of funds, and feel free to compare MNDFX to its peers 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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