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Is Carillon Scout Mid Cap I (UMBMX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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Having trouble finding a Mutual Fund Equity Report fund? Well, Carillon Scout Mid Cap I (UMBMX - Free Report) would not be a good potential starting point right now. UMBMX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 4 (Sell), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

History of Fund/Manager

Eagle Funds is based in St. Petersburg, FL, and is the manager of UMBMX. The Carillon Scout Mid Cap I made its debut in November of 2006 and UMBMX has managed to accumulate roughly $3.26 billion in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund's current manager is a team of investment professionals.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 6.37%, and is in the bottom third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 18.47%, 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 18.24%, the standard deviation of UMBMX over the past three years is 19.85%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 20.39% compared to the category average of 16.15%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

Investors should note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 1.02, so it is likely going to be as volatile as 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. With a negative alpha of -4.21, 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 largely on equities that are traded in the United States.

The mutual fund currently has 95.96% of its holdings in stocks, and these companies have an average market capitalization of $19.96 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:

  • Finance
  • Technology
  • Industrial Cyclical
  • Non-Durable
  • Retail Trade
With turnover at about 318%, this fund is making more traders than comparable funds in a given year.

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, UMBMX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.96% compared to the category average of 1.15%. So, UMBMX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.

Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $10,000 and that each subsequent investment has no minimum amount.

Bottom Line

Overall, Carillon Scout Mid Cap I ( UMBMX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a somewhat weak choice for investors right now.

Your research on the Mutual Fund Equity Report segment doesn't have to stop here. You can check out all the great mutual fund tools we have to offer by going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds to see the additional features we offer 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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