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Is Columbia Seligman Global Technology A (SHGTX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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On the lookout for a Sector - Tech fund? Starting with Columbia Seligman Global Technology A (SHGTX - Free Report) should not be a possibility at this time. SHGTX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 4 (Sell), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

SHGTX 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

Columbia is responsible for SHGTX, and the company is based out of Boston, MA. Since Columbia Seligman Global Technology A made its debut in May of 1994, SHGTX has garnered more than $776.87 million in assets. A team of investment professionals is the fund's current manager.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 22.39%, and is in the top third among its category peers. But if you are looking for a shorter time frame, it is also worth looking at its 3-year annualized total return of 22.47%, which places it in the middle 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. Over the past three years, SHGTX's standard deviation comes in at 15.34%, compared to the category average of 9.56%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 13.14% compared to the category average of 13.71%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

One cannot ignore the volatility of this segment, however, as it is always important for investors to remember the downside to any potential investment. SHGTX lost 45.2% in the most recent bear market and outperformed comparable funds by 7.6%. This makes the fund a possibly better choice than its peers during a sliding market environment.

Nevertheless, with a 5-year beta of 0.98, the fund 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. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a positive alpha of 11.30. This means that managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

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, SHGTX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.33% compared to the category average of 1.37%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, SHGTX is actually cheaper than its peers.

This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $2,000, while there is no minimum for each subsequent investment.

Bottom Line

Overall, Columbia Seligman Global Technology A has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Columbia Seligman Global Technology A looks like a somewhat weak choice for investors right now.

This could just be the start of your research on SHGTX in the Sector - Tech 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. And don't forget, Zacks has all of your needs covered on the equity side too! Make sure to check out Zacks.com for more information on our screening capabilities, Rank, and all our articles as well.


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