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Is Aegis Value Fund (AVALX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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If investors are looking at the Small Cap Value fund category, make sure to pass over Aegis Value Fund (AVALX - Free Report) . AVALX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 5 (Strong Sell), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
AVALX is one of many Small Cap Value funds to choose from. Small Cap Value mutual funds typically invest in companies with market caps under $2 billion. These funds represent value because they offer more bang for an owner's buck, often demonstrated by lower P/E Ratios, high dividend yields, and better-than-average price-to-sales ratios.
History of Fund/Manager
Aegis is based in McLean, VA, and is the manager of AVALX. The Aegis Value Fund made its debut in June of 2000 and AVALX has managed to accumulate roughly $331.32 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by Scott L. Barbee who has been in charge of the fund since June of 2000.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 17.99%, 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 11.41%, 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. The standard deviation of AVALX over the past three years is 23.63% compared to the category average of 20.2%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 30.08% compared to the category average of 24.83%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
The fund has a 5-year beta of 1.22, so investors should note that 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. AVALX has generated a positive alpha over the past five years of 4.35, demonstrating that managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking 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, AVALX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.43% compared to the category average of 1.17%. So, AVALX is actually more expensive than its peers from a cost perspective.
While the minimum initial investment for the product is $10,000, investors should also note that each subsequent investment needs to be at least $250.
Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Bottom Line
Overall, Aegis Value Fund ( AVALX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, worse downside risk, and higher fees, Aegis Value Fund ( AVALX ) looks like a poor potential choice for investors right now.
This could just be the start of your research on AVALXin the Small Cap Value category. Consider going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for additional information about this fund, and all the others that we rank 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.
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Is Aegis Value Fund (AVALX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
If investors are looking at the Small Cap Value fund category, make sure to pass over Aegis Value Fund (AVALX - Free Report) . AVALX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 5 (Strong Sell), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
AVALX is one of many Small Cap Value funds to choose from. Small Cap Value mutual funds typically invest in companies with market caps under $2 billion. These funds represent value because they offer more bang for an owner's buck, often demonstrated by lower P/E Ratios, high dividend yields, and better-than-average price-to-sales ratios.
History of Fund/Manager
Aegis is based in McLean, VA, and is the manager of AVALX. The Aegis Value Fund made its debut in June of 2000 and AVALX has managed to accumulate roughly $331.32 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by Scott L. Barbee who has been in charge of the fund since June of 2000.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 17.99%, 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 11.41%, 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. The standard deviation of AVALX over the past three years is 23.63% compared to the category average of 20.2%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 30.08% compared to the category average of 24.83%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
The fund has a 5-year beta of 1.22, so investors should note that 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. AVALX has generated a positive alpha over the past five years of 4.35, demonstrating that managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking 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, AVALX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.43% compared to the category average of 1.17%. So, AVALX is actually more expensive than its peers from a cost perspective.
While the minimum initial investment for the product is $10,000, investors should also note that each subsequent investment needs to be at least $250.
Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Bottom Line
Overall, Aegis Value Fund ( AVALX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, worse downside risk, and higher fees, Aegis Value Fund ( AVALX ) looks like a poor potential choice for investors right now.
This could just be the start of your research on AVALXin the Small Cap Value category. Consider going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for additional information about this fund, and all the others that we rank 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.