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Is Plumb Balanced (PLBBX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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Any investors hoping to find a Mutual Fund Equity Report fund might consider looking past Plumb Balanced (PLBBX - Free Report) . PLBBX 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
Plumb is based in Madison, WI, and is the manager of PLBBX. Since Plumb Balanced made its debut in May of 2007, PLBBX has garnered more than $43.37 million in assets. The fund's current manager, Thomas G. Plumb, has been in charge of the fund since May of 2007.
Performance
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. PLBBX has a 5-year annualized total return of 3.99% and is in the middle 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 1.14%, which places it in the bottom 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, PLBBX's standard deviation comes in at 15.87%, compared to the category average of 13.22%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 16.25% compared to the category average of 14.06%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
With a 5-year beta of 0.8, the fund is likely to be less volatile than the market average. Alpha is an additional metric to take into consideration, since it represents a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which in this case, is the S&P 500. With a negative alpha of -4.07, 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, PLBBX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.19% compared to the category average of 0.85%. PLBBX is actually more expensive than its peers when you consider factors like cost.
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.
Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Bottom Line
Overall, Plumb Balanced ( PLBBX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and higher fees, Plumb Balanced ( PLBBX ) looks like a somewhat weak choice for investors right now.
Want even more information about PLBBX? Then go over to Zacks.com and check out our mutual fund comparison tool, and all of the other great features that we have to help you with your mutual fund analysis 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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Is Plumb Balanced (PLBBX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
Any investors hoping to find a Mutual Fund Equity Report fund might consider looking past Plumb Balanced (PLBBX - Free Report) . PLBBX 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
Plumb is based in Madison, WI, and is the manager of PLBBX. Since Plumb Balanced made its debut in May of 2007, PLBBX has garnered more than $43.37 million in assets. The fund's current manager, Thomas G. Plumb, has been in charge of the fund since May of 2007.
Performance
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. PLBBX has a 5-year annualized total return of 3.99% and is in the middle 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 1.14%, which places it in the bottom 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, PLBBX's standard deviation comes in at 15.87%, compared to the category average of 13.22%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 16.25% compared to the category average of 14.06%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
With a 5-year beta of 0.8, the fund is likely to be less volatile than the market average. Alpha is an additional metric to take into consideration, since it represents a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which in this case, is the S&P 500. With a negative alpha of -4.07, 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, PLBBX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.19% compared to the category average of 0.85%. PLBBX is actually more expensive than its peers when you consider factors like cost.
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.
Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Bottom Line
Overall, Plumb Balanced ( PLBBX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and higher fees, Plumb Balanced ( PLBBX ) looks like a somewhat weak choice for investors right now.
Want even more information about PLBBX? Then go over to Zacks.com and check out our mutual fund comparison tool, and all of the other great features that we have to help you with your mutual fund analysis 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.