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Is Franklin Real Estate Security A (FREEX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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There are plenty of choices in the Mutual Fund Equity Report category, but where should you start your research? Well, one fund that may not be worth investigating is Franklin Real Estate Security A (FREEX - Free Report) . FREEX 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
Franklin is based in San Mateo, CA, and is the manager of FREEX. Since Franklin Real Estate Security A made its debut in January of 1994, FREEX has garnered more than $238.92 million in assets. The fund is currently managed by Daniel Scher who has been in charge of the fund since May of 2014.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 4.34%, and it sits in the middle third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 2.99%, 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, FREEX's standard deviation comes in at 21.18%, compared to the category average of 15.97%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 20.28% compared to the category average of 16.47%. 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. FREEX has a 5-year beta of 0.91, which means it is likely to be less 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. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a negative alpha of -6.03. This means that 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, FREEX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.05% compared to the category average of 0.98%. FREEX is actually more expensive than its peers when you consider factors like cost.
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, Franklin Real Estate Security A ( FREEX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and higher fees, Franklin Real Estate Security A ( FREEX ) looks like a poor potential 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 FREEX to its peers as well 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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Is Franklin Real Estate Security A (FREEX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
There are plenty of choices in the Mutual Fund Equity Report category, but where should you start your research? Well, one fund that may not be worth investigating is Franklin Real Estate Security A (FREEX - Free Report) . FREEX 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
Franklin is based in San Mateo, CA, and is the manager of FREEX. Since Franklin Real Estate Security A made its debut in January of 1994, FREEX has garnered more than $238.92 million in assets. The fund is currently managed by Daniel Scher who has been in charge of the fund since May of 2014.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 4.34%, and it sits in the middle third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 2.99%, 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, FREEX's standard deviation comes in at 21.18%, compared to the category average of 15.97%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 20.28% compared to the category average of 16.47%. 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. FREEX has a 5-year beta of 0.91, which means it is likely to be less 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. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a negative alpha of -6.03. This means that 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, FREEX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.05% compared to the category average of 0.98%. FREEX is actually more expensive than its peers when you consider factors like cost.
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, Franklin Real Estate Security A ( FREEX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and higher fees, Franklin Real Estate Security A ( FREEX ) looks like a poor potential 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 FREEX to its peers as well 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.