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Is Cohen & Steers Realty Shares (CSRSX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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Any investors hoping to find a Sector - Real Estate fund could think about starting with Cohen & Steers Realty Shares (CSRSX - Free Report) . CSRSX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
CSRSX is one of many Sector - Real Estate funds to choose from. Sector - Real Estate mutual funds are known to invest in real estate investment trusts (REITs). A popular income vehicle thanks to its taxation rules, a REIT is required to pay out at least 90% of its income annually to avoid double taxation. This technique makes securities in these funds high dividend players, and even bond-like in some instances, though their risk is similar to equities.
History of Fund/Manager
Cohen & Steers is based in New York, NY, and is the manager of CSRSX. Cohen & Steers Realty Shares debuted in July of 1991. Since then, CSRSX has accumulated assets of about $6.11 billion, according to the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. CSRSX has a 5-year annualized total return of 9.95% 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 14.49%, 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. The standard deviation of CSRSX over the past three years is 17.94% compared to the category average of 16.74%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 15.52% compared to the category average of 14.14%. 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 0.74, so it is likely going to be 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. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a negative alpha of -2.17. This means that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
Expenses
Costs are increasingly important for mutual fund investing, and particularly as competition heats up in this market. And all things being equal, a lower cost product will outperform its otherwise identical counterpart, so taking a closer look at these metrics is key for investors. In terms of fees, CSRSX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.88% compared to the category average of 1.22%. So, CSRSX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.
While the minimum initial investment for the product is $10,000, investors should also note that there is no minimum for each subsequent investment.
Bottom Line
Overall, Cohen & Steers Realty Shares ( CSRSX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Cohen & Steers Realty Shares ( CSRSX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
Want even more information about CSRSX? 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. Want to learn even more? We have a full suite of tools on stocks that you can use to find the best choices for your portfolio too, no matter what kind of investor you are.
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Is Cohen & Steers Realty Shares (CSRSX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
Any investors hoping to find a Sector - Real Estate fund could think about starting with Cohen & Steers Realty Shares (CSRSX - Free Report) . CSRSX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
CSRSX is one of many Sector - Real Estate funds to choose from. Sector - Real Estate mutual funds are known to invest in real estate investment trusts (REITs). A popular income vehicle thanks to its taxation rules, a REIT is required to pay out at least 90% of its income annually to avoid double taxation. This technique makes securities in these funds high dividend players, and even bond-like in some instances, though their risk is similar to equities.
History of Fund/Manager
Cohen & Steers is based in New York, NY, and is the manager of CSRSX. Cohen & Steers Realty Shares debuted in July of 1991. Since then, CSRSX has accumulated assets of about $6.11 billion, according to the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. CSRSX has a 5-year annualized total return of 9.95% 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 14.49%, 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. The standard deviation of CSRSX over the past three years is 17.94% compared to the category average of 16.74%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 15.52% compared to the category average of 14.14%. 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 0.74, so it is likely going to be 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. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a negative alpha of -2.17. This means that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
Expenses
Costs are increasingly important for mutual fund investing, and particularly as competition heats up in this market. And all things being equal, a lower cost product will outperform its otherwise identical counterpart, so taking a closer look at these metrics is key for investors. In terms of fees, CSRSX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.88% compared to the category average of 1.22%. So, CSRSX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.
While the minimum initial investment for the product is $10,000, investors should also note that there is no minimum for each subsequent investment.
Bottom Line
Overall, Cohen & Steers Realty Shares ( CSRSX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Cohen & Steers Realty Shares ( CSRSX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
Want even more information about CSRSX? 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. Want to learn even more? We have a full suite of tools on stocks that you can use to find the best choices for your portfolio too, no matter what kind of investor you are.