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Is American Funds Fundamental Investors F (AFIFX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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Mutual Fund Equity Report fund seekers may want to consider taking a look at American Funds Fundamental Investors F (AFIFX - Free Report) . AFIFX bears 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
American Funds is based in Los Angeles, CA, and is the manager of AFIFX. The American Funds Fundamental Investors F made its debut in July of 1978 and AFIFX has managed to accumulate roughly $1.68 billion in assets, as of the most recently available information. A team of investment professionals is the fund's current manager.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 5.94%, and it sits in the bottom 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 7.03%, 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. AFIFX's standard deviation over the past three years is 20.28% compared to the category average of 16.64%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 17.96% compared to the category average of 14.65%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
With a 5-year beta of 0.96, the fund is likely to be less volatile than the market average. 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. AFIFX's 5-year performance has produced a negative alpha of -3.72, which means managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
Holdings
Exploring 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 largely on equities that are traded in the United States.
Currently, this mutual fund is holding 87.05% stock in stocks, which have an average market capitalization of $252.77 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
Technology
Finance
Non-Durable
Industrial Cyclical
Turnover is 30%, which means this fund makes 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, AFIFX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.65% compared to the category average of 0.92%. From a cost perspective, AFIFX is actually cheaper than its peers.
Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $250 and that each subsequent investment needs to be at $50.
Bottom Line
Overall, American Funds Fundamental Investors F ( AFIFX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, American Funds Fundamental Investors F ( AFIFX ) 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 American Funds Fundamental Investors F (AFIFX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
Mutual Fund Equity Report fund seekers may want to consider taking a look at American Funds Fundamental Investors F (AFIFX - Free Report) . AFIFX bears 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
American Funds is based in Los Angeles, CA, and is the manager of AFIFX. The American Funds Fundamental Investors F made its debut in July of 1978 and AFIFX has managed to accumulate roughly $1.68 billion in assets, as of the most recently available information. A team of investment professionals is the fund's current manager.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 5.94%, and it sits in the bottom 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 7.03%, 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. AFIFX's standard deviation over the past three years is 20.28% compared to the category average of 16.64%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 17.96% compared to the category average of 14.65%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
With a 5-year beta of 0.96, the fund is likely to be less volatile than the market average. 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. AFIFX's 5-year performance has produced a negative alpha of -3.72, which means managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
Holdings
Exploring 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 largely on equities that are traded in the United States.
Currently, this mutual fund is holding 87.05% stock in stocks, which have an average market capitalization of $252.77 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
- Technology
- Finance
- Non-Durable
- Industrial Cyclical
Turnover is 30%, which means this fund makes 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, AFIFX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.65% compared to the category average of 0.92%. From a cost perspective, AFIFX is actually cheaper than its peers.
Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $250 and that each subsequent investment needs to be at $50.
Bottom Line
Overall, American Funds Fundamental Investors F ( AFIFX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, American Funds Fundamental Investors F ( AFIFX ) 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.