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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 has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 5 (Strong Sell), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

History of Fund/Manager

WESRX finds itself in the TETON family, based out of Rye, NY. The TETON Convertible Securities AAA made its debut in September of 1997 and WESRX has managed to accumulate roughly $3.84 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by Thomas Dinsmore who has been in charge of the fund since October of 2016.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 3.72%, and it sits 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 -5.24%, 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. Compared to the category average of 14.22%, the standard deviation of WESRX over the past three years is 14.27%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 15.23% compared to the category average of 15.07%. 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. WESRX has a 5-year beta of 0.69, which means it is likely to be less volatile than the market average. 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. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a negative alpha of -5.04. This means that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick 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, WESRX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.15% compared to the category average of 1.03%. So, WESRX is actually more expensive than its peers from a cost perspective.

While the minimum initial investment for the product is $1,000, investors should also note that there is no minimum for each subsequent investment.

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

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 higher fees, this fund looks like a somewhat weak choice for investors right now.

Want even more information about WESRX? 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. 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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