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Is USAA Science & Technology Fund (USSCX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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If you have been looking for Mutual Fund Equity Report fund category, a potential starting could be 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
Victory is based in Columbus, OH, and is the manager of USSCX. Since USAA Science & Technology Fund made its debut in August of 1997, USSCX has garnered more than $1.07 billion in assets. The fund is currently managed by a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 7.86%, and is in the bottom third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 3.26%, which places it in the bottom 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 20.1%, the standard deviation of USSCX over the past three years is 26.86%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 23.81% compared to the category average of 18.37%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
With a 5-year beta of 1.19, the fund is likely to be more volatile than the market average. 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. USSCX's 5-year performance has produced a negative alpha of -5.37, 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 96.72% of its assets in stocks, and these companies have an average market capitalization of $324.75 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
Technology
Health
This fund's turnover is about 44%, so the fund managers are making fewer trades than comparable funds.
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, USSCX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.95% compared to the category average of 1.30%. USSCX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.
Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $3,000; each subsequent investment needs to 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 weak performance, worse downside risk, and lower fees, USAA Science & Technology Fund ( USSCX ) 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. For analysis of the rest of your portfolio, make sure to visit Zacks.com for our full suite of tools which will help you investigate all of your stocks and funds in one place.
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Is USAA Science & Technology Fund (USSCX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
If you have been looking for Mutual Fund Equity Report fund category, a potential starting could be 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
Victory is based in Columbus, OH, and is the manager of USSCX. Since USAA Science & Technology Fund made its debut in August of 1997, USSCX has garnered more than $1.07 billion in assets. The fund is currently managed by a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 7.86%, and is in the bottom third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 3.26%, which places it in the bottom 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 20.1%, the standard deviation of USSCX over the past three years is 26.86%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 23.81% compared to the category average of 18.37%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
With a 5-year beta of 1.19, the fund is likely to be more volatile than the market average. 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. USSCX's 5-year performance has produced a negative alpha of -5.37, 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 96.72% of its assets in stocks, and these companies have an average market capitalization of $324.75 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
- Technology
- Health
This fund's turnover is about 44%, so the fund managers are making fewer trades than comparable funds.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, USSCX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.95% compared to the category average of 1.30%. USSCX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.
Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $3,000; each subsequent investment needs to 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 weak performance, worse downside risk, and lower fees, USAA Science & Technology Fund ( USSCX ) 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. For analysis of the rest of your portfolio, make sure to visit Zacks.com for our full suite of tools which will help you investigate all of your stocks and funds in one place.