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Is Hennessy Gas Utility Index Fund (GASFX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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If you have been looking for Index funds, it would not be wise to start your search with Hennessy Gas Utility Index Fund (GASFX - Free Report) . GASFX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 4 (Sell), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
History of Fund/Manager
Hennessy is based in Novato, CA, and is the manager of GASFX. The Hennessy Gas Utility Index Fund made its debut in May of 1989 and GASFX has managed to accumulate roughly $488.44 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. Ryan Kelley is the fund's current manager and has held that role since March of 2013.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 6.21%, and it sits 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 7.16%, 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, GASFX's standard deviation comes in at 15.49%, compared to the category average of 14.82%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 13.46% compared to the category average of 12.75%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
The fund has a 5-year beta of 0.57, so investors should note that it is hypothetically less volatile than the market at large. Alpha is an additional metric to take into consideration, since it represents a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which in this case, is the S&P 500. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a negative alpha of -3.27. This means 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, GASFX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.02% compared to the category average of 0.79%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, GASFX is actually more expensive than its peers.
Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $2,500 and that each subsequent investment has no minimum amount.
Bottom Line
Overall, Hennessy Gas Utility Index Fund ( GASFX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and higher fees, Hennessy Gas Utility Index Fund ( GASFX ) looks like a poor potential choice for investors right now.
This could just be the start of your research on GASFXin the Index category. Consider going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for additional information about this fund, and all the others that we rank as well 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 Hennessy Gas Utility Index Fund (GASFX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
If you have been looking for Index funds, it would not be wise to start your search with Hennessy Gas Utility Index Fund (GASFX - Free Report) . GASFX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 4 (Sell), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
History of Fund/Manager
Hennessy is based in Novato, CA, and is the manager of GASFX. The Hennessy Gas Utility Index Fund made its debut in May of 1989 and GASFX has managed to accumulate roughly $488.44 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. Ryan Kelley is the fund's current manager and has held that role since March of 2013.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 6.21%, and it sits 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 7.16%, 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, GASFX's standard deviation comes in at 15.49%, compared to the category average of 14.82%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 13.46% compared to the category average of 12.75%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
The fund has a 5-year beta of 0.57, so investors should note that it is hypothetically less volatile than the market at large. Alpha is an additional metric to take into consideration, since it represents a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which in this case, is the S&P 500. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a negative alpha of -3.27. This means 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, GASFX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.02% compared to the category average of 0.79%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, GASFX is actually more expensive than its peers.
Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $2,500 and that each subsequent investment has no minimum amount.
Bottom Line
Overall, Hennessy Gas Utility Index Fund ( GASFX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and higher fees, Hennessy Gas Utility Index Fund ( GASFX ) looks like a poor potential choice for investors right now.
This could just be the start of your research on GASFXin the Index category. Consider going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for additional information about this fund, and all the others that we rank as well 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.