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Is Direxion Monthly NASDAQ-100 Bull 1.75X Investor (DXQLX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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If you've been stuck searching for Mutual Fund Equity Report funds, consider Direxion Monthly NASDAQ-100 Bull 1.75X Investor (DXQLX - Free Report) as a possibility. DXQLX 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

Direxion Funds is based in Newton, MA, and is the manager of DXQLX. Direxion Monthly NASDAQ-100 Bull 1.75X Investor made its debut in May of 2006, and since then, DXQLX has accumulated about $274.46 million in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund's current manager, Tony Ng, has been in charge of the fund since May of 2006.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. DXQLX has a 5-year annualized total return of 25.54% and is in the top 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 28.49%, which places it in the top 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. The standard deviation of DXQLX over the past three years is 45.29% compared to the category average of 39.14%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 41.16% compared to the category average of 35.52%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

With a 5-year beta of 2.2, 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. DXQLX has generated a positive alpha over the past five years of 4.74, demonstrating that managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

Holdings

Examining 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.

This fund is currently holding about 98.08% stock in stocks and it has a negligible amount of assets in foreign securities. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:

  1. Other
  2. Finance
This fund's turnover is about 0%, so the fund managers are making fewer trades than its comparable peers.

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, DXQLX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.31% compared to the category average of 0.79%. So, DXQLX is actually more expensive than its peers from a cost perspective.

Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $25,000; each subsequent investment needs to be at least $500.

Bottom Line

Overall, Direxion Monthly NASDAQ-100 Bull 1.75X Investor ( DXQLX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, worse downside risk, and higher fees, Direxion Monthly NASDAQ-100 Bull 1.75X Investor ( DXQLX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.

For additional information on this product, or to compare it to other mutual funds in the Mutual Fund Equity Report, make sure to go to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for additional information. And don't forget, Zacks has all of your needs covered on the equity side too! Make sure to check out Zacks.com for more information on our screening capabilities, Rank, and all our articles as well.


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