We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience. This includes personalizing content and advertising. To learn more, click here. By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies, revised Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.
You are being directed to ZacksTrade, a division of LBMZ Securities and licensed broker-dealer. ZacksTrade and Zacks.com are separate companies. The web link between the two companies is not a solicitation or offer to invest in a particular security or type of security. ZacksTrade does not endorse or adopt any particular investment strategy, any analyst opinion/rating/report or any approach to evaluating individual securities.
If you wish to go to ZacksTrade, click OK. If you do not, click Cancel.
Is Bruce Fund (BRUFX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
Read MoreHide Full Article
There are plenty of choices in the Allocation Balanced category, but where should you start your research? Well, one fund that might be worth investigating is Bruce Fund (BRUFX - Free Report) . BRUFX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
BRUFX is one of many Zacks' Allocation Balanced mutual funds to pick from. Allocation Balanced funds seek to invest in a balance of asset types, like stocks, bonds, and cash, though including precious metals or commodities is not unusual; these funds are mostly categorized by their respective asset allocation. Investors utilize Allocation Balanced funds as a way to get a good start with diversified mutual funds, as well as for core holdings in a portfolio of funds.
History of Fund/Manager
Bruce is based in Chicago, IL, and is the manager of BRUFX. Since Bruce Fund made its debut in October of 1983, BRUFX has garnered more than $533.96 million in assets. The fund is currently managed by Robert B. Bruce who has been in charge of the fund since December of 1983.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 5.64%, 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 3.97%, 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. BRUFX's standard deviation over the past three years is 7.3% compared to the category average of 7.14%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 7.85% compared to the category average of 7.27%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
Investors should always remember the downsides to a potential investment, and this segment carries some risks one should be aware of. In the most recent bear market, BRUFX lost 39.57% and underperformed comparable funds by 3.17%. This means that the fund could possibly be a worse choice than its peers during a down market environment.
Investors should note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 0.49, so it is likely going to be less volatile than the market at large. Because alpha represents a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which is the S&P 500 in this case, one should pay attention to this metric as well. With a positive alpha of 1.17, 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, BRUFX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.67% compared to the category average of 0.88%. BRUFX 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 $500.
Bottom Line
Overall, Bruce Fund ( BRUFX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Bruce Fund ( BRUFX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
For additional information on the Allocation Balanced 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 BRUFX too for additional information. Zacks provides a full suite of tools to help you analyze your portfolio - both funds and stocks - in the most efficient way possible.
See More Zacks Research for These Tickers
Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:
Image: Bigstock
Is Bruce Fund (BRUFX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
There are plenty of choices in the Allocation Balanced category, but where should you start your research? Well, one fund that might be worth investigating is Bruce Fund (BRUFX - Free Report) . BRUFX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
BRUFX is one of many Zacks' Allocation Balanced mutual funds to pick from. Allocation Balanced funds seek to invest in a balance of asset types, like stocks, bonds, and cash, though including precious metals or commodities is not unusual; these funds are mostly categorized by their respective asset allocation. Investors utilize Allocation Balanced funds as a way to get a good start with diversified mutual funds, as well as for core holdings in a portfolio of funds.
History of Fund/Manager
Bruce is based in Chicago, IL, and is the manager of BRUFX. Since Bruce Fund made its debut in October of 1983, BRUFX has garnered more than $533.96 million in assets. The fund is currently managed by Robert B. Bruce who has been in charge of the fund since December of 1983.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 5.64%, 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 3.97%, 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. BRUFX's standard deviation over the past three years is 7.3% compared to the category average of 7.14%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 7.85% compared to the category average of 7.27%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
Investors should always remember the downsides to a potential investment, and this segment carries some risks one should be aware of. In the most recent bear market, BRUFX lost 39.57% and underperformed comparable funds by 3.17%. This means that the fund could possibly be a worse choice than its peers during a down market environment.
Investors should note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 0.49, so it is likely going to be less volatile than the market at large. Because alpha represents a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which is the S&P 500 in this case, one should pay attention to this metric as well. With a positive alpha of 1.17, 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, BRUFX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.67% compared to the category average of 0.88%. BRUFX 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 $500.
Bottom Line
Overall, Bruce Fund ( BRUFX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Bruce Fund ( BRUFX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
For additional information on the Allocation Balanced 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 BRUFX too for additional information. Zacks provides a full suite of tools to help you analyze your portfolio - both funds and stocks - in the most efficient way possible.