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Is Ave Maria Growth Fund (AVEGX) 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 Ave Maria Growth Fund (AVEGX - Free Report) . AVEGX carries 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
Ave Maria is based in Plymouth, MI, and is the manager of AVEGX. Ave Maria Growth Fund made its debut in May of 2003, and since then, AVEGX has accumulated about $909.44 million in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund is currently managed by Adam Gaglio who has been in charge of the fund since July of 2019.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 8.18%, 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 5.23%, which places it in the middle 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. The standard deviation of AVEGX over the past three years is 20.11% compared to the category average of 20.8%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 20.84% compared to the category average of 21.39%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
Investors should note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 1.05, which means it is hypothetically more volatile than the market at large. 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 -1.67, 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 primarily on equities that are traded in the United States.
This fund is currently holding about 79.41% in stocks and it has 7.36% of assets in foreign securities. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
Technology
Other
Retail Trade
Turnover is 40%, which means, on average, the fund makes fewer trades than the average comparable fund.
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, AVEGX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.91% compared to the category average of 1.15%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, AVEGX is actually cheaper than its peers.
Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $2,500; each subsequent investment has no minimum amount.
Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Bottom Line
Overall, even with its comparatively weak performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Ave Maria Growth Fund ( AVEGX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and therefore looks a somewhat weak choice for investors right now.
Don't stop here for your research on Mutual Fund Equity Report funds. We also have plenty more on our site in order to help you find the best possible fund for your portfolio. Make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for more information about the world of funds, and feel free to compare AVEGX to its peers as well for additional information. For analysis of the rest of your portfolio, make sure to visit Zacks.com for our full suite of tools which will help you investigate all of your stocks and funds in one place.
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Is Ave Maria Growth Fund (AVEGX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
If investors are looking at the Mutual Fund Equity Report fund category, make sure to pass over Ave Maria Growth Fund (AVEGX - Free Report) . AVEGX carries 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
Ave Maria is based in Plymouth, MI, and is the manager of AVEGX. Ave Maria Growth Fund made its debut in May of 2003, and since then, AVEGX has accumulated about $909.44 million in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund is currently managed by Adam Gaglio who has been in charge of the fund since July of 2019.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 8.18%, 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 5.23%, which places it in the middle 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. The standard deviation of AVEGX over the past three years is 20.11% compared to the category average of 20.8%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 20.84% compared to the category average of 21.39%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
Investors should note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 1.05, which means it is hypothetically more volatile than the market at large. 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 -1.67, 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 primarily on equities that are traded in the United States.
This fund is currently holding about 79.41% in stocks and it has 7.36% of assets in foreign securities. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
- Technology
- Other
- Retail Trade
Turnover is 40%, which means, on average, the fund makes fewer trades than the average comparable fund.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, AVEGX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.91% compared to the category average of 1.15%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, AVEGX is actually cheaper than its peers.
Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $2,500; each subsequent investment has no minimum amount.
Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Bottom Line
Overall, even with its comparatively weak performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Ave Maria Growth Fund ( AVEGX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and therefore looks a somewhat weak choice for investors right now.
Don't stop here for your research on Mutual Fund Equity Report funds. We also have plenty more on our site in order to help you find the best possible fund for your portfolio. Make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for more information about the world of funds, and feel free to compare AVEGX to its peers as well for additional information. For analysis of the rest of your portfolio, make sure to visit Zacks.com for our full suite of tools which will help you investigate all of your stocks and funds in one place.