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Is Oppenheimer SteelPath MLP Income A (MLPDX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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If investors are looking at the Sector - Energy fund category, Oppenheimer SteelPath MLP Income A (MLPDX - Free Report) could be a potential option. MLPDX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

We classify MLPDX in the Sector - Energy category, an area that is rife with possible choices. Throughout the massive global energy sector, Sector - Energy mutual funds hold a wide range of quickly changing and vitally important industries. While oil and gas comprise the bulk of the exposure, carbon-based fuels will be the biggest group of assets in these funds, though clean energy is starting to pick up steam.

History of Fund/Manager

MLPDX finds itself in the Invesco family, based out of Kansas City, MO. Since Oppenheimer SteelPath MLP Income A made its debut in April of 2010, MLPDX has garnered more than $1.88 billion in assets. The fund is currently managed by Stuart Cartner who has been in charge of the fund since April of 2010.

Performance

Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 12.77%, 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 19.93%, 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. The standard deviation of MLPDX over the past three years is 16.95% compared to the category average of 15.28%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 42.48% compared to the category average of 20.2%. 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 1.51, 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 negative alpha of -1. 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, MLPDX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.40% compared to the category average of 1.07%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, MLPDX is actually more expensive than its peers.

This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $1,000, and each subsequent investment should 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, even with its comparatively strong performance, worse downside risk, and higher fees, Oppenheimer SteelPath MLP Income A ( MLPDX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and therefore looks a good potential choice for investors right now.

This could just be the start of your research on MLPDXin the Sector - Energy 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. 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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