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Is Invesco Equity & Income A (ACEIX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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If you've been stuck searching for Large Cap Value funds, you might want to consider passing on by Invesco Equity & Income A (ACEIX - Free Report) as a possibility. ACEIX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 4 (Sell), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

Large Cap Value mutual funds invest in stocks with a market capitalization of $10 billion or more, but whose share prices do not reflect their intrinsic value; this value investing strategy often leads to low P/E ratios and high dividend yields, though growth levels are often curtailed. The high-growth opportunity of these funds are slowed even further, as large-cap securities are generally in stable industries with low to moderate growth prospects. Therefore, Large Cap Value funds are usually more appealing to investors who are interested in a stable income stream.

History of Fund/Manager

ACEIX is a part of the Invesco family of funds, a company based out of Kansas City, MO. The Invesco Equity & Income A made its debut in August of 1960 and ACEIX has managed to accumulate roughly $10.11 billion in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by a team of investment professionals.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. ACEIX has a 5-year annualized total return of 11.07% and it sits in the middle 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 7.77%, which places it in the bottom 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, ACEIX's standard deviation comes in at 16.25%, compared to the category average of 14.54%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 13.28% compared to the category average of 12.2%. 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 0.82, 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. ACEIX's 5-year performance has produced a negative alpha of -2.57, which means managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

Holdings

Investigating the equity holdings of a mutual fund is also a valuable exercise. This can show us how the manager is applying their stated methodology, as well as if there are any inherent biases in their approach. For this particular fund, the focus is largely on equities that are traded in the United States.

The mutual fund currently has 88.57% of its holdings in stocks, with an average market capitalization of $77.13 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:

  1. Other
  2. Finance
With turnover at about 133%, this fund is making more trades per year than the comparable average.

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, ACEIX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.78% compared to the category average of 1%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, ACEIX 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, Invesco Equity & Income A ( ACEIX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Invesco Equity & Income A ( ACEIX ) looks like a somewhat weak choice for investors right now.

Want even more information about ACEIX? 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. For analysis of the rest of your portfolio, make sure to visit Zacks.com for our full suite of tools which will help you investigate all of your stocks and funds in one place.


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