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Is Homestead Growth (HNASX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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Have you been searching for a Mutual Fund Equity Report fund? You might want to begin with Homestead Growth (HNASX - Free Report) . HNASX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
History of Fund/Manager
Homestead is responsible for HNASX, and the company is based out of Arlington, VA. The Homestead Growth made its debut in June of 2004 and HNASX has managed to accumulate roughly $263.97 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by Taymour Tamaddon who has been in charge of the fund since January of 2017.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. HNASX has a 5-year annualized total return of 9.49% and is in the bottom 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 12.89%, 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, HNASX's standard deviation comes in at 23.23%, compared to the category average of 23.03%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 20.87% compared to the category average of 21.23%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
The fund has a 5-year beta of 1.06, so investors should note that it is hypothetically more volatile than the market at large. 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. With a negative alpha of -1.75, 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 principally on equities that are traded in the United States.
The mutual fund currently has 89.66% of its holdings in stocks, with an average market capitalization of $342.66 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
Technology
Retail Trade
Finance
This fund's turnover is about 23%, so the fund managers are making fewer trades than comparable funds.
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, HNASX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.83% compared to the category average of 0.79%. From a cost perspective, HNASX is actually more expensive than its peers.
Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $500 and that each subsequent investment has no minimum amount.
Bottom Line
Overall, Homestead Growth ( HNASX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, average downside risk, and higher fees, Homestead Growth ( HNASX ) looks like a somewhat average choice for investors right now.
This could just be the start of your research on HNASXin 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. Zacks provides a full suite of tools to help you analyze your portfolio - both funds and stocks - in the most efficient way possible.
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Is Homestead Growth (HNASX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
Have you been searching for a Mutual Fund Equity Report fund? You might want to begin with Homestead Growth (HNASX - Free Report) . HNASX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
History of Fund/Manager
Homestead is responsible for HNASX, and the company is based out of Arlington, VA. The Homestead Growth made its debut in June of 2004 and HNASX has managed to accumulate roughly $263.97 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by Taymour Tamaddon who has been in charge of the fund since January of 2017.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. HNASX has a 5-year annualized total return of 9.49% and is in the bottom 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 12.89%, 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, HNASX's standard deviation comes in at 23.23%, compared to the category average of 23.03%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 20.87% compared to the category average of 21.23%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
The fund has a 5-year beta of 1.06, so investors should note that it is hypothetically more volatile than the market at large. 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. With a negative alpha of -1.75, 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 principally on equities that are traded in the United States.
The mutual fund currently has 89.66% of its holdings in stocks, with an average market capitalization of $342.66 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
- Technology
- Retail Trade
- Finance
This fund's turnover is about 23%, so the fund managers are making fewer trades than comparable funds.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, HNASX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.83% compared to the category average of 0.79%. From a cost perspective, HNASX is actually more expensive than its peers.
Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $500 and that each subsequent investment has no minimum amount.
Bottom Line
Overall, Homestead Growth ( HNASX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, average downside risk, and higher fees, Homestead Growth ( HNASX ) looks like a somewhat average choice for investors right now.
This could just be the start of your research on HNASXin 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. Zacks provides a full suite of tools to help you analyze your portfolio - both funds and stocks - in the most efficient way possible.