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Is AllianzGI Global Water A (AWTAX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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Having trouble finding a Sector - Utilities fund? AllianzGI Global Water A (AWTAX - Free Report) is a potential starting point. AWTAX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
We classify AWTAX in the Sector - Utilities category, an area that is rife with possible choices. Sector - Utilities funds focus their investments on firms that provide essential daily services to millions of people like electric power, gas distribution, and water supply. All in all, the utility industry is a perfect fit for those investors looking for stability and low volatility.
History of Fund/Manager
AWTAX is a part of the Allianz family of funds, a company based out of Stamford, CT. AllianzGI Global Water A debuted in April of 2008. Since then, AWTAX has accumulated assets of about $200.38 million, according to the most recently available information. The fund's current manager, Andreas Fruschki, has been in charge of the fund since April of 2008.
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 11.7%, 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 10.68%, which places it in the top third during this time-frame.
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, AWTAX's standard deviation comes in at 16.4%, compared to the category average of 18.31%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 13.79% compared to the category average of 15.5%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
Investors should note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 0.77, which means it is hypothetically less 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. AWTAX has generated a negative alpha over the past five years of -0.08, demonstrating that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick 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, AWTAX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.22% compared to the category average of 1.25%. From a cost perspective, AWTAX is actually cheaper than its peers.
Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $1,000 and that each subsequent investment needs to be at $50.
Bottom Line
Overall, AllianzGI Global Water A ( AWTAX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, AllianzGI Global Water A ( AWTAX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
Want even more information about AWTAX? 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. If you are more of a stock investor, make sure to also check out our Zacks Rank, and our full suite of tools we have available for novice and professional investors alike.
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Is AllianzGI Global Water A (AWTAX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
Having trouble finding a Sector - Utilities fund? AllianzGI Global Water A (AWTAX - Free Report) is a potential starting point. AWTAX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
We classify AWTAX in the Sector - Utilities category, an area that is rife with possible choices. Sector - Utilities funds focus their investments on firms that provide essential daily services to millions of people like electric power, gas distribution, and water supply. All in all, the utility industry is a perfect fit for those investors looking for stability and low volatility.
History of Fund/Manager
AWTAX is a part of the Allianz family of funds, a company based out of Stamford, CT. AllianzGI Global Water A debuted in April of 2008. Since then, AWTAX has accumulated assets of about $200.38 million, according to the most recently available information. The fund's current manager, Andreas Fruschki, has been in charge of the fund since April of 2008.
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 11.7%, 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 10.68%, which places it in the top third during this time-frame.
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, AWTAX's standard deviation comes in at 16.4%, compared to the category average of 18.31%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 13.79% compared to the category average of 15.5%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
Investors should note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 0.77, which means it is hypothetically less 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. AWTAX has generated a negative alpha over the past five years of -0.08, demonstrating that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick 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, AWTAX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.22% compared to the category average of 1.25%. From a cost perspective, AWTAX is actually cheaper than its peers.
Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $1,000 and that each subsequent investment needs to be at $50.
Bottom Line
Overall, AllianzGI Global Water A ( AWTAX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, AllianzGI Global Water A ( AWTAX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
Want even more information about AWTAX? 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. If you are more of a stock investor, make sure to also check out our Zacks Rank, and our full suite of tools we have available for novice and professional investors alike.