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Is Bruce Fund (BRUFX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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Having trouble finding a Mutual Fund Equity Report fund? Bruce Fund (BRUFX - Free Report) is a potential starting point. BRUFX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
History of Fund/Manager
Bruce is based in Chicago, IL, and is the manager of BRUFX. Bruce Fund made its debut in October of 1983, and since then, BRUFX has accumulated about $590.14 million in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. Robert B. Bruce is the fund's current manager and has held that role since December of 1983.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 11.7%, 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 17.2%, 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. Compared to the category average of 15.42%, the standard deviation of BRUFX over the past three years is 11.39%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 10.04% compared to the category average of 12.82%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
With a 5-year beta of 0.57, the fund is likely to be less volatile than the market average. 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. BRUFX has generated a positive alpha over the past five years of 0.77, demonstrating that managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking 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, BRUFX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.66% compared to the category average of 0.89%. BRUFX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.
This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $1,000, and each subsequent investment should be at least $500.
Bottom Line
Overall, Bruce Fund ( BRUFX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Bruce Fund ( BRUFX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
For additional information on the Mutual Fund Equity Report 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 BRUFX 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.
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Is Bruce Fund (BRUFX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
Having trouble finding a Mutual Fund Equity Report fund? Bruce Fund (BRUFX - Free Report) is a potential starting point. BRUFX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
History of Fund/Manager
Bruce is based in Chicago, IL, and is the manager of BRUFX. Bruce Fund made its debut in October of 1983, and since then, BRUFX has accumulated about $590.14 million in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. Robert B. Bruce is the fund's current manager and has held that role since December of 1983.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 11.7%, 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 17.2%, 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. Compared to the category average of 15.42%, the standard deviation of BRUFX over the past three years is 11.39%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 10.04% compared to the category average of 12.82%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
With a 5-year beta of 0.57, the fund is likely to be less volatile than the market average. 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. BRUFX has generated a positive alpha over the past five years of 0.77, demonstrating that managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking 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, BRUFX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.66% compared to the category average of 0.89%. BRUFX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.
This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $1,000, and each subsequent investment should be at least $500.
Bottom Line
Overall, Bruce Fund ( BRUFX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Bruce Fund ( BRUFX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
For additional information on the Mutual Fund Equity Report 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 BRUFX 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.