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Is Direxion Monthly NASDAQ-100 Bull 1.75X Investor (DXQLX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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Are you on the hunt for an Index fund? You should think about starting with Direxion Monthly NASDAQ-100 Bull 1.75X Investor (DXQLX - Free Report) . DXQLX has no Zacks Mutual Fund Rank, but we have been able to look into other metrics like performance, volatility, and cost.

History of Fund/Manager

Direxion Funds is based in Newton, MA, and is the manager of DXQLX. Direxion Monthly NASDAQ-100 Bull 1.75X Investor made its debut in May of 2006, and since then, DXQLX has accumulated about $446.02 million in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund is currently managed by Tony Ng who has been in charge of the fund since May of 2006.

Performance

Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 33.01%, 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 4.21%, 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. DXQLX's standard deviation over the past three years is 41.87% compared to the category average of 37.98%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 41.08% compared to the category average of 39.17%. 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 2.1, which means it is hypothetically more volatile than the market at large. Another factor to consider is alpha, as it reflects a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark-in this case, the S&P 500. DXQLX has generated a positive alpha over the past five years of 5.31, 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, DXQLX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.55% compared to the category average of 1.92%. DXQLX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.

Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $25,000 and that each subsequent investment needs to be at $500

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

Bottom Line

For additional information on this product, or to compare it to other mutual funds in the Index, make sure to go to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for additional information. And don't forget, Zacks has all of your needs covered on the equity side too! Make sure to check out Zacks.com for more information on our screening capabilities, Rank, and all our articles as well.


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