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Is Deutsche Science and Technology A (KTCAX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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Any investors hoping to find a Sector - Tech fund could think about starting with Deutsche Science and Technology A (KTCAX - Free Report) . KTCAX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
The world of Sector - Tech funds is an area filled with options, and KTCAX is one of them. Sector - Tech mutual funds allow investors to own a stake in a notoriously volatile sector with a much more diversified approach. Tech companies can be in any number of industries such as semiconductors, software, internet, networking just to name a few.
History of Fund/Manager
Deutsche AWM is based in New York, NY, and is the manager of KTCAX. Deutsche Science and Technology A made its debut in September of 1948, and since then, KTCAX has accumulated about $744.70 million in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund is currently managed by a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 16.47%, 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 19.37%, 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. Compared to the category average of 10.36%, the standard deviation of KTCAX over the past three years is 15.71%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 15.14% compared to the category average of 10.03%. 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. KTCAX lost 53.73% in the most recent bear market and outperformed its peer group by 0.42%. This makes the fund a possibly better choice than its peers during a sliding market environment.
Nevertheless, investors should also note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 1.2, 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. KTCAX's 5-year performance has produced a positive alpha of 0.35, which means 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 principally on equities that are traded in the United States.
Right now, 91.4% of this mutual fund's holdings are stocks, and these companies have an average market capitalization of $352.55 billion. This fund's turnover is about 26%, so the fund managers are 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, KTCAX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.93% compared to the category average of 1.35%. KTCAX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.
This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $1,000, and each subsequent investment should be at least $50.
Bottom Line
Overall, Deutsche Science and Technology A ( KTCAX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, worse downside risk, and lower fees, Deutsche Science and Technology A ( KTCAX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
Want even more information about KTCAX? Then go over to Zacks.com and check out our mutual fund comparison tool, and all of the other great features that we have to help you with your mutual fund analysis 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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Is Deutsche Science and Technology A (KTCAX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
Any investors hoping to find a Sector - Tech fund could think about starting with Deutsche Science and Technology A (KTCAX - Free Report) . KTCAX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
The world of Sector - Tech funds is an area filled with options, and KTCAX is one of them. Sector - Tech mutual funds allow investors to own a stake in a notoriously volatile sector with a much more diversified approach. Tech companies can be in any number of industries such as semiconductors, software, internet, networking just to name a few.
History of Fund/Manager
Deutsche AWM is based in New York, NY, and is the manager of KTCAX. Deutsche Science and Technology A made its debut in September of 1948, and since then, KTCAX has accumulated about $744.70 million in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund is currently managed by a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 16.47%, 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 19.37%, 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. Compared to the category average of 10.36%, the standard deviation of KTCAX over the past three years is 15.71%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 15.14% compared to the category average of 10.03%. 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. KTCAX lost 53.73% in the most recent bear market and outperformed its peer group by 0.42%. This makes the fund a possibly better choice than its peers during a sliding market environment.
Nevertheless, investors should also note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 1.2, 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. KTCAX's 5-year performance has produced a positive alpha of 0.35, which means 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 principally on equities that are traded in the United States.
Right now, 91.4% of this mutual fund's holdings are stocks, and these companies have an average market capitalization of $352.55 billion. This fund's turnover is about 26%, so the fund managers are 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, KTCAX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.93% compared to the category average of 1.35%. KTCAX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.
This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $1,000, and each subsequent investment should be at least $50.
Bottom Line
Overall, Deutsche Science and Technology A ( KTCAX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, worse downside risk, and lower fees, Deutsche Science and Technology A ( KTCAX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
Want even more information about KTCAX? Then go over to Zacks.com and check out our mutual fund comparison tool, and all of the other great features that we have to help you with your mutual fund analysis 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.