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Is Royce Global Financial Services Service Class (RYFSX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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If investors are looking at the Mutual Fund Equity Report fund category, make sure to pass over Royce Global Financial Services Service Class (RYFSX - Free Report) . RYFSX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 5 (Strong Sell), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

History of Fund/Manager

Royce Funds is based in New York, NY, and is the manager of RYFSX. Since Royce Global Financial Services Service Class made its debut in January of 2004, RYFSX has garnered more than $21.99 million in assets. The fund's current manager, Charles M. Royce, has been in charge of the fund since January of 2004.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. RYFSX has a 5-year annualized total return of 8.18% and it sits 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 10.34%, 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. RYFSX's standard deviation over the past three years is 22.32% compared to the category average of 20.74%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 19.23% compared to the category average of 18.04%. 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 1.06, which means it is hypothetically more 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. RYFSX's 5-year performance has produced a negative alpha of -4.78, which means 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, RYFSX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.49% compared to the category average of 1.45%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, RYFSX is actually more expensive than its peers.

Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $2,000 and that each subsequent investment needs to be at $50.

Bottom Line

Overall, Royce Global Financial Services Service Class ( RYFSX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and higher fees, this fund looks like a poor potential choice for investors right now.

Want even more information about RYFSX? 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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