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Is Hennessy Gas Utility Investor (GASFX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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Have you been searching for an Index fund? You might want to begin with Hennessy Gas Utility Investor (GASFX - Free Report) . GASFX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
History of Fund/Manager
Hennessy is based in Novato, CA, and is the manager of GASFX. Since Hennessy Gas Utility Investor made its debut in May of 1989, GASFX has garnered more than $383.25 million in assets. The fund is currently managed by Ryan Kelley who has been in charge of the fund since March of 2013.
Performance
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. GASFX has a 5-year annualized total return of 4.63% and is in the bottom 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 6.59%, 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. GASFX's standard deviation over the past three years is 16% compared to the category average of 15.5%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 16.41% compared to the category average of 15.94%. 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. GASFX has a 5-year beta of 0.67, which means it is likely to be less volatile than the market average. 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. GASFX's 5-year performance has produced a negative alpha of -5.23, which means 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, GASFX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1% compared to the category average of 0.95%. So, GASFX is actually more expensive than its peers from a cost perspective.
This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $2,500, while there is no minimum for each subsequent investment.
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 weak performance, average downside risk, and higher fees, Hennessy Gas Utility Investor ( GASFX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and therefore looks a somewhat average choice for investors right now.
Want even more information about GASFX? Then go over to Zacks.com and check out our mutual fund comparison tool, and all of the other great features that we have to help you with your mutual fund analysis 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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Is Hennessy Gas Utility Investor (GASFX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
Have you been searching for an Index fund? You might want to begin with Hennessy Gas Utility Investor (GASFX - Free Report) . GASFX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
History of Fund/Manager
Hennessy is based in Novato, CA, and is the manager of GASFX. Since Hennessy Gas Utility Investor made its debut in May of 1989, GASFX has garnered more than $383.25 million in assets. The fund is currently managed by Ryan Kelley who has been in charge of the fund since March of 2013.
Performance
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. GASFX has a 5-year annualized total return of 4.63% and is in the bottom 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 6.59%, 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. GASFX's standard deviation over the past three years is 16% compared to the category average of 15.5%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 16.41% compared to the category average of 15.94%. 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. GASFX has a 5-year beta of 0.67, which means it is likely to be less volatile than the market average. 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. GASFX's 5-year performance has produced a negative alpha of -5.23, which means 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, GASFX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1% compared to the category average of 0.95%. So, GASFX is actually more expensive than its peers from a cost perspective.
This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $2,500, while there is no minimum for each subsequent investment.
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 weak performance, average downside risk, and higher fees, Hennessy Gas Utility Investor ( GASFX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and therefore looks a somewhat average choice for investors right now.
Want even more information about GASFX? Then go over to Zacks.com and check out our mutual fund comparison tool, and all of the other great features that we have to help you with your mutual fund analysis 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.