Having trouble finding a Mutual Fund Equity Report fund? BNY Mellon Natural Resources A (DNLAX Quick QuoteDNLAX - Free Report) is a potential starting point. DNLAX carries 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

BNY Mellon is based in New York, NY, and is the manager of DNLAX. BNY Mellon Natural Resources A debuted in October of 2003. Since then, DNLAX has accumulated assets of about $186.48 million, according to the most recently available information. David Intoppa is the fund's current manager and has held that role since November of 2020.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 14.37%, and is in the top third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 31.66%, which places it in the top third during this time-frame.

It is important to note that the product's returns may not reflect all its expenses. Any fees not reflected would lower the returns. Total returns do not reflect the fund's [%] sale charge. If sales charges were included, total returns would have been lower.

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, DNLAX's standard deviation comes in at 28.16%, compared to the category average of 16.67%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 28.84% compared to the category average of 18.29%. 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 1.14, so it is likely going to be 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. The fund has produced a positive alpha over the past 5 years of 3.9, which shows that managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

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, DNLAX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.14% compared to the category average of 1.52%. DNLAX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.

Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $1,000; each subsequent investment needs to be at least $100.

Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.

Bottom Line

Overall, BNY Mellon Natural Resources A ( DNLAX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, worse downside risk, and lower fees, BNY Mellon Natural Resources A ( DNLAX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.

For additional information on the Mutual Fund Equity Report area of the mutual fund world, make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds. There, you can see more about the ranking process, and dive even deeper into DNLAX too for additional information. If you are more of a stock investor, make sure to also check out our Zacks Rank, and our full suite of tools we have available for novice and professional investors alike.