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Is USAA Science & Technology Fund (USSCX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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If you're looking for a Mutual Fund Equity Report fund category, then a potential option is USAA Science & Technology Fund (USSCX - Free Report) . USSCX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
History of Fund/Manager
USSCX is a part of the Victory family of funds, a company based out of Columbus, OH. USAA Science & Technology Fund made its debut in August of 1997, and since then, USSCX has accumulated about $1.37 billion in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. A team of investment professionals is the fund's current manager.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 15.34%, and is in the middle 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 14.04%, 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 18.7%, the standard deviation of USSCX over the past three years is 24.36%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 21.76% compared to the category average of 16.94%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
With a 5-year beta of 1.17, the fund is likely to be more 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. USSCX's 5-year performance has produced a negative alpha of -1.15, 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 mostly on equities that are traded in the United States.
As of the last filing date, the mutual fund has 84.33% of its assets in stocks, which have an average market capitalization of $375.34 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
Technology
Health
This fund's turnover is about 43%, so the fund managers are making fewer trades than the average comparable fund.
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, USSCX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.99% compared to the category average of 1.29%. From a cost perspective, USSCX is actually cheaper than its peers.
This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $3,000, and each subsequent investment should be at least $50.
Bottom Line
Overall, USAA Science & Technology Fund ( USSCX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a somewhat average choice for investors right now.
Don't stop here for your research on Mutual Fund Equity Report funds. We also have plenty more on our site in order to help you find the best possible fund for your portfolio. Make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for more information about the world of funds, and feel free to compare USSCX to its peers as well 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 USAA Science & Technology Fund (USSCX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
If you're looking for a Mutual Fund Equity Report fund category, then a potential option is USAA Science & Technology Fund (USSCX - Free Report) . USSCX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
History of Fund/Manager
USSCX is a part of the Victory family of funds, a company based out of Columbus, OH. USAA Science & Technology Fund made its debut in August of 1997, and since then, USSCX has accumulated about $1.37 billion in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. A team of investment professionals is the fund's current manager.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 15.34%, and is in the middle 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 14.04%, 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 18.7%, the standard deviation of USSCX over the past three years is 24.36%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 21.76% compared to the category average of 16.94%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
With a 5-year beta of 1.17, the fund is likely to be more 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. USSCX's 5-year performance has produced a negative alpha of -1.15, 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 mostly on equities that are traded in the United States.
As of the last filing date, the mutual fund has 84.33% of its assets in stocks, which have an average market capitalization of $375.34 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
- Technology
- Health
This fund's turnover is about 43%, so the fund managers are making fewer trades than the average comparable fund.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, USSCX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.99% compared to the category average of 1.29%. From a cost perspective, USSCX is actually cheaper than its peers.
This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $3,000, and each subsequent investment should be at least $50.
Bottom Line
Overall, USAA Science & Technology Fund ( USSCX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a somewhat average choice for investors right now.
Don't stop here for your research on Mutual Fund Equity Report funds. We also have plenty more on our site in order to help you find the best possible fund for your portfolio. Make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for more information about the world of funds, and feel free to compare USSCX to its peers as well 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.