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Is Shelton Nasdaq-100 Index Direct (NASDX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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Are you on the hunt for an Index fund? You should think about starting with Shelton Nasdaq-100 Index Direct (NASDX - Free Report) . While this fund is not tracked by the Zacks Mutual Fund Rank, we were able to examine other factors like performance, volatility, and cost.
History of Fund/Manager
Shelton is responsible for NASDX, and the company is based out of Denver, CO. Shelton Nasdaq-100 Index Direct debuted in April of 2000. Since then, NASDX has accumulated assets of about $1.54 billion, according to the most recently available information. Stephen C. Rogers is the fund's current manager and has held that role since December of 2003.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 18.13%, and it sits in the top third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 8.43%, 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. Compared to the category average of 21.17%, the standard deviation of NASDX over the past three years is 22.46%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 21.95% compared to the category average of 20.99%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
Investors should note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 1.09, which means it is hypothetically more volatile than the market at large. 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 positive alpha of 3.89. This means that managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
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, NASDX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.50% compared to the category average of 0.93%. NASDX is actually cheaper 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 each subsequent investment needs to be at least $100.
Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Bottom Line
For additional information on this product, or to compare it to other mutual funds in the Index, make sure to go to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for additional information. Zacks provides a full suite of tools to help you analyze your portfolio - both funds and stocks - in the most efficient way possible.
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Is Shelton Nasdaq-100 Index Direct (NASDX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
Are you on the hunt for an Index fund? You should think about starting with Shelton Nasdaq-100 Index Direct (NASDX - Free Report) . While this fund is not tracked by the Zacks Mutual Fund Rank, we were able to examine other factors like performance, volatility, and cost.
History of Fund/Manager
Shelton is responsible for NASDX, and the company is based out of Denver, CO. Shelton Nasdaq-100 Index Direct debuted in April of 2000. Since then, NASDX has accumulated assets of about $1.54 billion, according to the most recently available information. Stephen C. Rogers is the fund's current manager and has held that role since December of 2003.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 18.13%, and it sits in the top third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 8.43%, 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. Compared to the category average of 21.17%, the standard deviation of NASDX over the past three years is 22.46%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 21.95% compared to the category average of 20.99%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
Investors should note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 1.09, which means it is hypothetically more volatile than the market at large. 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 positive alpha of 3.89. This means that managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
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, NASDX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.50% compared to the category average of 0.93%. NASDX is actually cheaper 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 each subsequent investment needs to be at least $100.
Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Bottom Line
For additional information on this product, or to compare it to other mutual funds in the Index, make sure to go to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for additional information. Zacks provides a full suite of tools to help you analyze your portfolio - both funds and stocks - in the most efficient way possible.