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Is Aegis Value Fund (AVALX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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Having trouble finding a Small Cap Value fund? Aegis Value Fund (AVALX - Free Report) is a potential starting point. AVALX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
AVALX is one of many Small Cap Value funds to choose from. Small Cap Value mutual funds typically invest in companies with market caps under $2 billion. These funds represent value because they offer more bang for an owner's buck, often demonstrated by lower P/E Ratios, high dividend yields, and better-than-average price-to-sales ratios.
History of Fund/Manager
AVALX is a part of the Aegis family of funds, a company based out of McLean, VA. Aegis Value Fund made its debut in June of 2000, and since then, AVALX has accumulated about $160.42 million in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. Scott L. Barbee is the fund's current manager and has held that role since June of 2000.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 15.83%, and is 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 15.83%, 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. AVALX's standard deviation over the past three years is 33.37% compared to the category average of 27.98%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 27.8% compared to the category average of 22.91%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
Investors should not forget about beta, an important way to measure a mutual fund's risk compared to the market as a whole. AVALX has a 5-year beta of 1.39, which means it is likely to be more volatile than the market average. 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. AVALX has generated a negative alpha over the past five years of -4.83, 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, AVALX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.50% compared to the category average of 1.25%. From a cost perspective, AVALX is actually more expensive than its peers.
While the minimum initial investment for the product is $10,000, investors should also note that each subsequent investment needs to be at least $250.
Bottom Line
Overall, Aegis Value Fund ( AVALX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and higher fees, Aegis Value Fund ( AVALX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
For additional information on this product, or to compare it to other mutual funds in the Small Cap Value, make sure to go to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds 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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Is Aegis Value Fund (AVALX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
Having trouble finding a Small Cap Value fund? Aegis Value Fund (AVALX - Free Report) is a potential starting point. AVALX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
AVALX is one of many Small Cap Value funds to choose from. Small Cap Value mutual funds typically invest in companies with market caps under $2 billion. These funds represent value because they offer more bang for an owner's buck, often demonstrated by lower P/E Ratios, high dividend yields, and better-than-average price-to-sales ratios.
History of Fund/Manager
AVALX is a part of the Aegis family of funds, a company based out of McLean, VA. Aegis Value Fund made its debut in June of 2000, and since then, AVALX has accumulated about $160.42 million in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. Scott L. Barbee is the fund's current manager and has held that role since June of 2000.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 15.83%, and is 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 15.83%, 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. AVALX's standard deviation over the past three years is 33.37% compared to the category average of 27.98%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 27.8% compared to the category average of 22.91%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
Investors should not forget about beta, an important way to measure a mutual fund's risk compared to the market as a whole. AVALX has a 5-year beta of 1.39, which means it is likely to be more volatile than the market average. 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. AVALX has generated a negative alpha over the past five years of -4.83, 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, AVALX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.50% compared to the category average of 1.25%. From a cost perspective, AVALX is actually more expensive than its peers.
While the minimum initial investment for the product is $10,000, investors should also note that each subsequent investment needs to be at least $250.
Bottom Line
Overall, Aegis Value Fund ( AVALX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and higher fees, Aegis Value Fund ( AVALX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
For additional information on this product, or to compare it to other mutual funds in the Small Cap Value, make sure to go to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds 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.