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Is Direxion Mo Sm Cap Bull 2X Fund (DXRLX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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If you have been looking for Small Cap Blend funds, a place to start could be Direxion Mo Sm Cap Bull 2X Fund (DXRLX - Free Report) . DXRLX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

We classify DXRLX in the Small Cap Blend category, an area rife with potential choices. Small Cap Blend mutual funds usually target companies with a market capitalization of less than $2 billion. A small-cap blend mutual fund allows investors to diversify their funds among various types of small-cap stocks, which can help reduce the volatility inherent in lower market cap companies.

History of Fund/Manager

DXRLX is a part of the Direxion Funds family of funds, a company based out of Newton, MA. The Direxion Mo Sm Cap Bull 2X Fund made its debut in February of 1999 and DXRLX has managed to accumulate roughly $24.66 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by Paul Brigandi who has been in charge of the fund since December of 2004.

Performance

Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. DXRLX has a 5-year annualized total return of 26.3% and is in the top third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 16.5%, 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. Compared to the category average of 13.91%, the standard deviation of DXRLX over the past three years is 28.14%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 27.81% compared to the category average of 13.31%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

It's always important to be aware of the downsides to any future investment, so one should not discount the risks that come with this segment. In DXRLX's case, the fund lost 91.57% in the most recent bear market and underperformed comparable funds by 39.13%. This means that the fund could possibly be a worse choice than its peers during a down market environment.

And for investors concerned about the potential drawdown in a really bad calendar year, we can look back to 2008 for that figure. In its worst calendar year in a decade, the fund lost over 77.55%.

Nevertheless, investors should also note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 2.32, which means it is hypothetically more volatile than the market at large. 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. With a negative alpha of -6.1, 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, DXRLX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.35% compared to the category average of 1.15%. So, DXRLX is actually more expensive than its peers from a cost perspective.

While the minimum initial investment for the product is $25,000, investors should also note that each subsequent investment needs to be at least $500.

Bottom Line

Overall, Direxion Mo Sm Cap Bull 2X Fund DXRLX has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, worse downside risk, and higher fees, Direxion Mo Sm Cap Bull 2X Fund looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.

Your research on the Small Cap Blend 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. 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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