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Is Kinetics Global Fund No Load (WWWEX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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There are plenty of choices in the Mutual Fund Equity Report category, but where should you start your research? Well, one fund that may not be worth investigating is Kinetics Global Fund No Load (WWWEX - Free Report) . WWWEX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 4 (Sell), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
History of Fund/Manager
Kinetics is responsible for WWWEX, and the company is based out of Sleepy Hollow, NY. Since Kinetics Global Fund No Load made its debut in February of 2003, WWWEX has garnered more than $21.03 million in assets. The fund's current manager, Murray Stahl, has been in charge of the fund since February of 2003.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. WWWEX has a 5-year annualized total return of 4.78% and it sits in the top 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 10.79%, 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. WWWEX's standard deviation over the past three years is 24.31% compared to the category average of 16.13%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 21.17% compared to the category average of 14.06%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
With a 5-year beta of 0.77, the fund is likely to be less volatile than the market average. 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. WWWEX's 5-year performance has produced a negative alpha of -1.71, which means managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick 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, WWWEX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.39% compared to the category average of 1.10%. So, WWWEX is actually more expensive than its peers from a cost perspective.
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, Kinetics Global Fund No Load ( WWWEX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, worse downside risk, and higher fees, Kinetics Global Fund No Load ( WWWEX ) looks like a poor potential choice for investors right now.
Want even more information about WWWEX? 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. 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 Kinetics Global Fund No Load (WWWEX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
There are plenty of choices in the Mutual Fund Equity Report category, but where should you start your research? Well, one fund that may not be worth investigating is Kinetics Global Fund No Load (WWWEX - Free Report) . WWWEX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 4 (Sell), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
History of Fund/Manager
Kinetics is responsible for WWWEX, and the company is based out of Sleepy Hollow, NY. Since Kinetics Global Fund No Load made its debut in February of 2003, WWWEX has garnered more than $21.03 million in assets. The fund's current manager, Murray Stahl, has been in charge of the fund since February of 2003.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. WWWEX has a 5-year annualized total return of 4.78% and it sits in the top 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 10.79%, 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. WWWEX's standard deviation over the past three years is 24.31% compared to the category average of 16.13%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 21.17% compared to the category average of 14.06%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
With a 5-year beta of 0.77, the fund is likely to be less volatile than the market average. 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. WWWEX's 5-year performance has produced a negative alpha of -1.71, which means managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick 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, WWWEX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.39% compared to the category average of 1.10%. So, WWWEX is actually more expensive than its peers from a cost perspective.
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, Kinetics Global Fund No Load ( WWWEX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, worse downside risk, and higher fees, Kinetics Global Fund No Load ( WWWEX ) looks like a poor potential choice for investors right now.
Want even more information about WWWEX? 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. 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.