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Is Buffalo Discovery Investor (BUFTX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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If you have been looking for Mid Cap Growth funds, it would not be wise to start your search with Buffalo Discovery Investor (BUFTX - Free Report) . BUFTX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 4 (Sell), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
BUFTX is part of the Mid Cap Growth section, a segment that boasts a wide array of possible selections. While Mid Cap Growth mutual funds choose companies with a stock market valuation between $2 billion and $10 billion, stocks in these funds are also expected to show broad considerable growth opportunities for investors compared to their peers. To be considered a growth stock, companies must consistently report impressive sales and/or earnings growth.
History of Fund/Manager
BUFTX is a part of the Buffalo Funds family of funds, a company based out of Shawnee Mission, KS. Since Buffalo Discovery Investor made its debut in April of 2001, BUFTX has garnered more than $636.54 million in assets. Dave Carlsen is the fund's current manager and has held that role since January of 2004.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 9.28%, and it sits in the bottom third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of -0.06%, 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. BUFTX's standard deviation over the past three years is 21.68% compared to the category average of 18.02%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 21.15% compared to the category average of 18.85%. 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. BUFTX has a 5-year beta of 1.05, which means it is likely to be more 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. BUFTX's 5-year performance has produced a negative alpha of -4.96, which means 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, BUFTX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.01% compared to the category average of 1.01%. BUFTX is actually on par with its peers when you consider factors like cost.
Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $2,500 and that each subsequent investment needs to be at $100
Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Bottom Line
Overall, Buffalo Discovery Investor ( BUFTX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, average downside risk, and on par fees, this fund looks like a somewhat weak choice for investors right now.
Your research on the Mid Cap Growth segment doesn't have to stop here. You can check out all the great mutual fund tools we have to offer by going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds to see the additional features we offer as well 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 Buffalo Discovery Investor (BUFTX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
If you have been looking for Mid Cap Growth funds, it would not be wise to start your search with Buffalo Discovery Investor (BUFTX - Free Report) . BUFTX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 4 (Sell), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
BUFTX is part of the Mid Cap Growth section, a segment that boasts a wide array of possible selections. While Mid Cap Growth mutual funds choose companies with a stock market valuation between $2 billion and $10 billion, stocks in these funds are also expected to show broad considerable growth opportunities for investors compared to their peers. To be considered a growth stock, companies must consistently report impressive sales and/or earnings growth.
History of Fund/Manager
BUFTX is a part of the Buffalo Funds family of funds, a company based out of Shawnee Mission, KS. Since Buffalo Discovery Investor made its debut in April of 2001, BUFTX has garnered more than $636.54 million in assets. Dave Carlsen is the fund's current manager and has held that role since January of 2004.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 9.28%, and it sits in the bottom third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of -0.06%, 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. BUFTX's standard deviation over the past three years is 21.68% compared to the category average of 18.02%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 21.15% compared to the category average of 18.85%. 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. BUFTX has a 5-year beta of 1.05, which means it is likely to be more 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. BUFTX's 5-year performance has produced a negative alpha of -4.96, which means 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, BUFTX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.01% compared to the category average of 1.01%. BUFTX is actually on par with its peers when you consider factors like cost.
Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $2,500 and that each subsequent investment needs to be at $100
Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Bottom Line
Overall, Buffalo Discovery Investor ( BUFTX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, average downside risk, and on par fees, this fund looks like a somewhat weak choice for investors right now.
Your research on the Mid Cap Growth segment doesn't have to stop here. You can check out all the great mutual fund tools we have to offer by going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds to see the additional features we offer as well 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.