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Is TETON Convertible Securities AAA (WESRX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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If investors are looking at the Mutual Fund Equity Report fund category, make sure to pass over TETON Convertible Securities AAA (WESRX - Free Report) . WESRX holds 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

WESRX is a part of the TETON family of funds, a company based out of Rye, NY. TETON Convertible Securities AAA made its debut in September of 1997, and since then, WESRX has accumulated about $4.07 million in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund is currently managed by Thomas Dinsmore who has been in charge of the fund since October of 2016.

Performance

Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. WESRX has a 5-year annualized total return of 4.64% 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 3.57%, 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 15.24%, the standard deviation of WESRX over the past three years is 15.21%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 14.83% compared to the category average of 14.98%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

The fund has a 5-year beta of 0.69, so investors should note that it is hypothetically 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. The fund has produced a negative alpha over the past 5 years of -3.4, which shows 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, WESRX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.15% compared to the category average of 1.19%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, WESRX is actually cheaper than its peers.

Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $1,000 and that each subsequent investment has no minimum amount.

Bottom Line

Overall, TETON Convertible Securities AAA ( WESRX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, TETON Convertible Securities AAA ( WESRX ) looks like a somewhat weak 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. Want to learn even more? We have a full suite of tools on stocks that you can use to find the best choices for your portfolio too, no matter what kind of investor you are.


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