Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Is Oppenheimer SteelPath MLP Income C (MLPRX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

Read MoreHide Full Article

Sector - Energy fund seekers should consider taking a look at Oppenheimer SteelPath MLP Income C (MLPRX - Free Report) . MLPRX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

MLPRX is one of many Sector - Energy funds to choose from. Sector - Energy mutual funds are comprised of various changing and hugely important industries throughout the massive global energy sector. Even though clean energy is beginning to pick up steam, oil and gas companies have the highest exposure, but carbon-based fuels will be the biggest group of assets in these funds.

History of Fund/Manager

Invesco is based in Kansas City, MO, and is the manager of MLPRX. Since Oppenheimer SteelPath MLP Income C made its debut in May of 2011, MLPRX has garnered more than $542.50 million in assets. Stuart Cartner is the fund's current manager and has held that role since May of 2011.

Performance

Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. MLPRX has a 5-year annualized total return of 11.82% and is 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 19.06%, 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. Compared to the category average of 15.28%, the standard deviation of MLPRX over the past three years is 16.98%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 42.4% 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. With a negative alpha of -1.88, 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, MLPRX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 2.15% compared to the category average of 1.07%. MLPRX is actually more expensive 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 $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 C ( MLPRX ) 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 MLPRXin 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. 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.


See More Zacks Research for These Tickers


Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:


Invesco SteelPath MLP Income C (MLPRX) - free report >>

Published in