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Is Hennessy Gas Utility Index Fund (GASFX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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Have you been searching for a Mutual Fund Equity Report fund? You might want to begin with Hennessy Gas Utility Index Fund (GASFX - Free Report) . GASFX carries 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
GASFX finds itself in the Hennessy family, based out of Novato, CA. Hennessy Gas Utility Index Fund made its debut in May of 1989, and since then, GASFX has accumulated about $524.64 million in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund is currently managed by Ryan Kelley who has been in charge of the fund since March of 2013.
Performance
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. GASFX has a 5-year annualized total return of 7.72% and is in the bottom 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 10.29%, 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. GASFX's standard deviation over the past three years is 16.48% compared to the category average of 15.78%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 14.37% compared to the category average of 13.8%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
The fund has a 5-year beta of 0.56, so investors should note that it is hypothetically less volatile than the market at large. Because alpha represents a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which is the S&P 500 in this case, one should pay attention to this metric as well. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a positive alpha of 0.25. This means 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, GASFX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1% compared to the category average of 0.78%. 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 neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, average downside risk, and higher fees, this fund looks like a somewhat average choice for investors right now.
Your research on the Mutual Fund Equity Report segment doesn't have to stop here. You can check out all the great mutual fund tools we have to offer by going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds to see the additional features we offer as well 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 Hennessy Gas Utility Index Fund (GASFX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
Have you been searching for a Mutual Fund Equity Report fund? You might want to begin with Hennessy Gas Utility Index Fund (GASFX - Free Report) . GASFX carries 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
GASFX finds itself in the Hennessy family, based out of Novato, CA. Hennessy Gas Utility Index Fund made its debut in May of 1989, and since then, GASFX has accumulated about $524.64 million in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund is currently managed by Ryan Kelley who has been in charge of the fund since March of 2013.
Performance
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. GASFX has a 5-year annualized total return of 7.72% and is in the bottom 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 10.29%, 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. GASFX's standard deviation over the past three years is 16.48% compared to the category average of 15.78%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 14.37% compared to the category average of 13.8%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
The fund has a 5-year beta of 0.56, so investors should note that it is hypothetically less volatile than the market at large. Because alpha represents a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which is the S&P 500 in this case, one should pay attention to this metric as well. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a positive alpha of 0.25. This means 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, GASFX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1% compared to the category average of 0.78%. 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 neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, average downside risk, and higher fees, this fund looks like a somewhat average choice for investors right now.
Your research on the Mutual Fund Equity Report segment doesn't have to stop here. You can check out all the great mutual fund tools we have to offer by going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds to see the additional features we offer as well 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.