Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Is Janus Henderson Global Technology D (JNGTX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

Read MoreHide Full Article

If you have been looking for Sector - Tech funds, a place to start could be Janus Henderson Global Technology D (JNGTX - Free Report) . JNGTX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

JNGTX is part of the Sector - Tech category, which boasts an array of different possible selections. With a much more diversified approach, Sector - Tech mutual funds give investors a way to own a stake in a notoriously risky sector. Tech companies are in various industries like semiconductors, software, internet, and networking, among others.

History of Fund/Manager

JNGTX is a part of the Janus Fund family of funds, a company based out of Boston, MA. Since Janus Henderson Global Technology D made its debut in December of 1998, JNGTX has garnered more than $2.79 billion in assets. Denny Fish is the fund's current manager and has held that role since January of 2016.

Performance

Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. JNGTX has a 5-year annualized total return of 18.77% and is in the middle 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 6.16%, which places it in the middle 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, JNGTX's standard deviation comes in at 24.5%, compared to the category average of 15.89%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 22.95% compared to the category average of 16.84%. 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. JNGTX has a 5-year beta of 1.12, which means it is likely to be more 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. The fund has produced a positive alpha over the past 5 years of 3.4, which shows 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 primarily on equities that are traded in the United States.

Right now, 85.1% of this mutual fund's holdings are stocks, and these companies have an average market capitalization of $525.81 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:

  • Technology
  • Other
This fund's turnover is about 43%, so the fund managers are making fewer trades than its comparable peers.

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, JNGTX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.80% compared to the category average of 1%. JNGTX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.

Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $2,500 and that each subsequent investment needs to be at $50

Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.

Bottom Line

Overall, Janus Henderson Global Technology D ( JNGTX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, worse downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.

For additional information on the Sector - Tech area of the mutual fund world, make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds. There, you can see more about the ranking process, and dive even deeper into JNGTX too 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.


See More Zacks Research for These Tickers


Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:


JANUS HENDERSON GLB TECH D (JNGTX) - free report >>

Published in