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Is Royce Global Financial Services Service Class (RYFSX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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On the lookout for a Sector - Finance fund? Starting with Royce Global Financial Services Service Class should not be a possibility at this time. RYFSX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 5 (Strong Sell), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

RYFSX is part of the Sector - Finance section, which boasts an array of other possible selections. Sector - Finance funds offer a stable, diversified approach to investing that focuses on the financial industry, an infamously large, complex, and heavily-regulated space. Funds here can include insurance companies and exchanges, as well as banks and investment giants. Investors should note that interest rates may also impact players in this market.

History of Fund/Manager

Royce Funds is responsible for RYFSX, and the company is based out of New York, NY. The Royce Global Financial Services Service Class made its debut in January of 2004 and RYFSX has managed to accumulate roughly $20.08 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by Charles M. Royce who has been in charge of the fund since January of 2004.

Performance

Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. RYFSX has a 5-year annualized total return of 8.26% 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 0.88%, 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. Over the past three years, RYFSX's standard deviation comes in at 17.53%, compared to the category average of 18.39%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 20.93% compared to the category average of 20.29%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

With a 5-year beta of 1.04, the fund 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. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a negative alpha of -5.87. This means that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick 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, RYFSX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.49% compared to the category average of 1.09%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, RYFSX is actually more expensive than its peers.

While the minimum initial investment for the product is $2,000, investors should also note that each subsequent investment needs to be at least $50.

Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.

Bottom Line

Overall, Royce Global Financial Services Service Class ( RYFSX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and higher fees, Royce Global Financial Services Service Class ( RYFSX ) looks like a poor potential choice for investors right now.

This could just be the start of your research on RYFSXin the Sector - Finance 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. 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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