On the lookout for a Non US - Equity fund? Starting with Direxion Monthly Emerging Markets Bull 2X Investor is one possibility. DXELX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
Zacks categorizes DXELX as Non US - Equity, a segment stacked high with options. Non US - Equity mutual funds like to invest in companies outside of the United States, an important characteristic since global mutual funds are known to keep a good portion of their portfolio stateside. These kinds of funds can often extend across all cap levels, and will typically allocate their investments between emerging and developed markets.
History of Fund/Manager
Direxion Funds is based in Newton, MA, and is the manager of DXELX. Since Direxion Monthly Emerging Markets Bull 2X Investor made its debut in November of 2005, DXELX has garnered more than $11.02 million in assets. The fund's current manager, Paul Brigandi, has been in charge of the fund since November of 2005.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 22.89%, and is in the top third among its category peers. But if you are looking for a shorter time frame, it is also worth looking at its 3-year annualized total return of 4.26%, which places it in the middle 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. DXELX's standard deviation over the past three years is 38.95% compared to the category average of 37.9%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 35.28% compared to the category average of 32.75%. 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 1.72, so it is likely going to be 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. The fund has produced a negative alpha over the past 5 years of -0.9, which shows that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
Expenses
For investors, taking a closer look at cost-related metrics is key, since costs are increasingly important for mutual fund investing. Competition is heating up in this space, and a lower cost product will likely outperform its otherwise identical counterpart, all things being equal. In terms of fees, DXELX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.36% compared to the category average of 1.19%. From a cost perspective, DXELX is actually more expensive than its peers.
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.
Bottom Line
Overall, Direxion Monthly Emerging Markets Bull 2X Investor ( DXELX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and higher fees, Direxion Monthly Emerging Markets Bull 2X Investor ( DXELX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
For additional information on the Non US - Equity area of the mutual fund world, make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds. There, you can see more about the ranking process, and dive even deeper into DXELX too 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.
Image: Bigstock
Is Direxion Monthly Emerging Markets Bull 2X Investor (DXELX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
On the lookout for a Non US - Equity fund? Starting with Direxion Monthly Emerging Markets Bull 2X Investor is one possibility. DXELX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
Zacks categorizes DXELX as Non US - Equity, a segment stacked high with options. Non US - Equity mutual funds like to invest in companies outside of the United States, an important characteristic since global mutual funds are known to keep a good portion of their portfolio stateside. These kinds of funds can often extend across all cap levels, and will typically allocate their investments between emerging and developed markets.
History of Fund/Manager
Direxion Funds is based in Newton, MA, and is the manager of DXELX. Since Direxion Monthly Emerging Markets Bull 2X Investor made its debut in November of 2005, DXELX has garnered more than $11.02 million in assets. The fund's current manager, Paul Brigandi, has been in charge of the fund since November of 2005.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 22.89%, and is in the top third among its category peers. But if you are looking for a shorter time frame, it is also worth looking at its 3-year annualized total return of 4.26%, which places it in the middle 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. DXELX's standard deviation over the past three years is 38.95% compared to the category average of 37.9%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 35.28% compared to the category average of 32.75%. 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 1.72, so it is likely going to be 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. The fund has produced a negative alpha over the past 5 years of -0.9, which shows that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
Expenses
For investors, taking a closer look at cost-related metrics is key, since costs are increasingly important for mutual fund investing. Competition is heating up in this space, and a lower cost product will likely outperform its otherwise identical counterpart, all things being equal. In terms of fees, DXELX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.36% compared to the category average of 1.19%. From a cost perspective, DXELX is actually more expensive than its peers.
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.
Bottom Line
Overall, Direxion Monthly Emerging Markets Bull 2X Investor ( DXELX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and higher fees, Direxion Monthly Emerging Markets Bull 2X Investor ( DXELX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
For additional information on the Non US - Equity area of the mutual fund world, make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds. There, you can see more about the ranking process, and dive even deeper into DXELX too 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.