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Is John Hancock Regional Bank A (FRBAX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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Having trouble finding a Mutual Fund Equity Report fund? Well, John Hancock Regional Bank A (FRBAX - Free Report) would not be a good potential starting point right now. FRBAX bears 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
FRBAX finds itself in the John Hancock family, based out of Boston, MA. The John Hancock Regional Bank A made its debut in January of 1992 and FRBAX has managed to accumulate roughly $475.16 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund's current manager, Susan Curry, has been in charge of the fund since May of 2006.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of -3.1%, and it sits 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 8.43%, which places it in the bottom third during this time-frame.
It is important to note that the product's returns may not reflect all its expenses. Any fees not reflected would lower the returns. Total returns do not reflect the fund's [%] sale charge. If sales charges were included, total returns would have been lower.
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. Over the past three years, FRBAX's standard deviation comes in at 26.88%, compared to the category average of 16.74%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 29.36% compared to the category average of 17.73%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
Investors should not forget about beta, an important way to measure a mutual fund's risk compared to the market as a whole. FRBAX has a 5-year beta of 1.03, which means it is likely to be as volatile as 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. The fund has produced a negative alpha over the past 5 years of -11.74, which shows that 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 primarily on equities that are traded in the United States.
Currently, this mutual fund is holding 76.57% in stocks and it has a negligible amount of assets in foreign securities. With turnover at about 6%, this fund is making fewer trades than comparable funds.
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, FRBAX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.16% compared to the category average of 1.49%. So, FRBAX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.
While the minimum initial investment for the product is $1,000, investors should also note that there is no minimum for each subsequent investment.
Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Bottom Line
Overall, John Hancock Regional Bank A ( FRBAX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, worse downside risk, and lower fees, John Hancock Regional Bank A ( FRBAX ) looks like a somewhat weak choice for investors right now.
This could just be the start of your research on FRBAXin the Mutual Fund Equity Report category. Consider going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for additional information about this fund, and all the others that we rank as well for additional information. Want to learn even more? We have a full suite of tools on stocks that you can use to find the best choices for your portfolio too, no matter what kind of investor you are.
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Is John Hancock Regional Bank A (FRBAX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
Having trouble finding a Mutual Fund Equity Report fund? Well, John Hancock Regional Bank A (FRBAX - Free Report) would not be a good potential starting point right now. FRBAX bears 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
FRBAX finds itself in the John Hancock family, based out of Boston, MA. The John Hancock Regional Bank A made its debut in January of 1992 and FRBAX has managed to accumulate roughly $475.16 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund's current manager, Susan Curry, has been in charge of the fund since May of 2006.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of -3.1%, and it sits 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 8.43%, which places it in the bottom third during this time-frame.
It is important to note that the product's returns may not reflect all its expenses. Any fees not reflected would lower the returns. Total returns do not reflect the fund's [%] sale charge. If sales charges were included, total returns would have been lower.
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. Over the past three years, FRBAX's standard deviation comes in at 26.88%, compared to the category average of 16.74%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 29.36% compared to the category average of 17.73%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
Investors should not forget about beta, an important way to measure a mutual fund's risk compared to the market as a whole. FRBAX has a 5-year beta of 1.03, which means it is likely to be as volatile as 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. The fund has produced a negative alpha over the past 5 years of -11.74, which shows that 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 primarily on equities that are traded in the United States.
Currently, this mutual fund is holding 76.57% in stocks and it has a negligible amount of assets in foreign securities. With turnover at about 6%, this fund is making fewer trades than comparable funds.
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, FRBAX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.16% compared to the category average of 1.49%. So, FRBAX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.
While the minimum initial investment for the product is $1,000, investors should also note that there is no minimum for each subsequent investment.
Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Bottom Line
Overall, John Hancock Regional Bank A ( FRBAX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, worse downside risk, and lower fees, John Hancock Regional Bank A ( FRBAX ) looks like a somewhat weak choice for investors right now.
This could just be the start of your research on FRBAXin the Mutual Fund Equity Report category. Consider going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for additional information about this fund, and all the others that we rank as well for additional information. Want to learn even more? We have a full suite of tools on stocks that you can use to find the best choices for your portfolio too, no matter what kind of investor you are.