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Is Berkshire Focus Fund (BFOCX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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There are plenty of choices in the Large Cap Growth category, but where should you start your research? Well, one fund that may not be worth investigating is Berkshire Focus Fund (BFOCX - Free Report) . BFOCX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 5 (Strong Sell), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
We classify BFOCX in the Large Cap Growth category, an area rife with potential choices. Large Cap Growth funds invest in many large U.S. companies that are expected to grow much faster compared to other large-cap stocks. To be considered large-cap, companies must have a market cap over $10 billion.
History of Fund/Manager
BFOCX finds itself in the Berkshire family, based out of Mikwaukee, WI. The Berkshire Focus Fund made its debut in July of 1997 and BFOCX has managed to accumulate roughly $221.40 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund's current manager, Malcolm R. Fobes III, has been in charge of the fund since July of 1997.
Performance
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 6.95%, 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 -19.71%, 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. BFOCX's standard deviation over the past three years is 36.46% compared to the category average of 25.65%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 34.07% compared to the category average of 25.67%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
With a 5-year beta of 1.31, 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. The fund has produced a negative alpha over the past 5 years of -7.97, which shows that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
Expenses
As competition heats up in the mutual fund market, costs become increasingly important. Compared to its otherwise identical counterpart, a low-cost product will be an outperformer, all other things being equal. Thus, taking a closer look at cost-related metrics is vital for investors. In terms of fees, BFOCX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.96% compared to the category average of 1.23%. So, BFOCX is actually more expensive than its peers from a cost perspective.
While the minimum initial investment for the product is $5,000, investors should also note that each subsequent investment needs to be at least $500.
Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Bottom Line
Overall, Berkshire Focus Fund ( BFOCX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, worse downside risk, and higher fees, Berkshire Focus Fund ( BFOCX ) looks like a somewhat weak choice for investors right now.
Don't stop here for your research on Large Cap Growth funds. We also have plenty more on our site in order to help you find the best possible fund for your portfolio. Make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for more information about the world of funds, and feel free to compare BFOCX to its peers 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 Berkshire Focus Fund (BFOCX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
There are plenty of choices in the Large Cap Growth category, but where should you start your research? Well, one fund that may not be worth investigating is Berkshire Focus Fund (BFOCX - Free Report) . BFOCX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 5 (Strong Sell), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
We classify BFOCX in the Large Cap Growth category, an area rife with potential choices. Large Cap Growth funds invest in many large U.S. companies that are expected to grow much faster compared to other large-cap stocks. To be considered large-cap, companies must have a market cap over $10 billion.
History of Fund/Manager
BFOCX finds itself in the Berkshire family, based out of Mikwaukee, WI. The Berkshire Focus Fund made its debut in July of 1997 and BFOCX has managed to accumulate roughly $221.40 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund's current manager, Malcolm R. Fobes III, has been in charge of the fund since July of 1997.
Performance
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 6.95%, 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 -19.71%, 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. BFOCX's standard deviation over the past three years is 36.46% compared to the category average of 25.65%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 34.07% compared to the category average of 25.67%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
With a 5-year beta of 1.31, 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. The fund has produced a negative alpha over the past 5 years of -7.97, which shows that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
Expenses
As competition heats up in the mutual fund market, costs become increasingly important. Compared to its otherwise identical counterpart, a low-cost product will be an outperformer, all other things being equal. Thus, taking a closer look at cost-related metrics is vital for investors. In terms of fees, BFOCX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.96% compared to the category average of 1.23%. So, BFOCX is actually more expensive than its peers from a cost perspective.
While the minimum initial investment for the product is $5,000, investors should also note that each subsequent investment needs to be at least $500.
Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Bottom Line
Overall, Berkshire Focus Fund ( BFOCX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, worse downside risk, and higher fees, Berkshire Focus Fund ( BFOCX ) looks like a somewhat weak choice for investors right now.
Don't stop here for your research on Large Cap Growth funds. We also have plenty more on our site in order to help you find the best possible fund for your portfolio. Make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for more information about the world of funds, and feel free to compare BFOCX to its peers 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.