Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Is Oakmark Investor (OAKMX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

Read MoreHide Full Article

All Cap Value fund seekers should consider taking a look at Oakmark Investor (OAKMX - Free Report) . OAKMX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

OAKMX is one of many All Cap Value funds to choose from. All Cap Value mutual funds buy stakes in companies in all three valuation categories: small, medium, and large-cap. However, they end up focusing on bigger firms due to percentage of assets. Most importantly, these funds look for key value characteristics, targeting stocks that boast low P/E ratios, high dividend yields, and whose share prices do not reflect their worth.

History of Fund/Manager

OAKMX is a part of the Oakmark family of funds, a company based out of Kansas City, MO. Since Oakmark Investor made its debut in August of 1991, OAKMX has garnered more than $9.31 billion in assets. A team of investment professionals is the fund's current manager.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. OAKMX has a 5-year annualized total return of 14.86% and it sits in the top 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 13.23%, 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, OAKMX's standard deviation comes in at 20.15%, compared to the category average of 14.9%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 23.7% compared to the category average of 16.11%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

With a 5-year beta of 1.19, the fund is likely to be more 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. The fund has produced a negative alpha over the past 5 years of -1.25, which shows that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

Holdings

Investigating 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 principally on equities that are traded in the United States.

The mutual fund currently has 79.61% of its holdings in stocks, with an average market capitalization of $90.91 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:

  • Finance
  • Technology
With turnover at about 52%, this fund is making more trades in a given year than the category average.

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, OAKMX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.91% compared to the category average of 0.95%. From a cost perspective, OAKMX is actually cheaper than its peers.

Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $0; 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, Oakmark Investor ( OAKMX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, worse downside risk, and lower fees, Oakmark Investor ( OAKMX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.

Don't stop here for your research on All Cap Value 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 OAKMX 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.


See More Zacks Research for These Tickers


Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:


Oakmark Investor (OAKMX) - free report >>

Published in