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Is Victory Diversified Stock A (SRVEX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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Looking for a Mutual Fund Equity Report fund? You may want to consider Victory Diversified Stock A (SRVEX - Free Report) as a possible option. SRVEX 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

Victory is based in Columbus, OH, and is the manager of SRVEX. Victory Diversified Stock A made its debut in October of 1989, and since then, SRVEX has accumulated about $196.15 million in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. Michael Gura is the fund's current manager and has held that role since May of 2017.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 9.18%, 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 14.26%, 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. Compared to the category average of 17.77%, the standard deviation of SRVEX over the past three years is 18.86%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 20.6% compared to the category average of 15.72%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

Investors should not forget about beta, an important way to measure a mutual fund's risk compared to the market as a whole. SRVEX has a 5-year beta of 1.08, which means it is likely to be more volatile than the market average. 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 -2.07, managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

Holdings

Investigating 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.

Right now, 93.85% of this mutual fund's holdings are stocks, with an average market capitalization of $176.02 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:

  • Technology
  • Finance
  • Retail Trade
Turnover is about 49%, so those in charge of the fund make fewer trades than its comparable peers.

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, SRVEX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.08% compared to the category average of 0.91%. So, SRVEX is actually more expensive than its peers from a cost perspective.

Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $2,500; each subsequent investment needs to be at least $50.

Bottom Line

Overall, Victory Diversified Stock A ( SRVEX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, average downside risk, and higher fees, Victory Diversified Stock A ( SRVEX ) looks like a somewhat average 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. 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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