Sector - Energy fund seekers should not consider taking a look at Oppenheimer SteelPath MLP Income C (MLPRX Quick QuoteMLPRX - Free Report) at this time. MLPRX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 5 (Strong Sell), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

Zacks categorizes MLPRX as Sector - Energy, a segment packed with options. Sector - Energy mutual funds encompass a wide range of vastly changing and vitally important industries throughout this massive global sector. Oil and gas comprise the bulk of the exposure here, and carbon-based fuels are going to be the majority of assets in these funds. However, clean energy is starting to pick up steam.

History of Fund/Manager

Oppenheimer is based in Denver, CO, and is the manager of MLPRX. Oppenheimer SteelPath MLP Income C debuted in May of 2011. Since then, MLPRX has accumulated assets of about $788.02 million, according to the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by Stuart Cartner who has been in charge of the fund since May of 2011.

Performance

Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. MLPRX has a 5-year annualized total return of -6.83% and it sits in the top 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 -0.9%, 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. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 18.77% compared to the category average of 1.49%. This makes the fund more 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.

Investors should note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 1.03, so it is likely going to be as volatile as 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 negative alpha of -13.41, managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick 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, MLPRX is a no load fund and it has an expense ratio of 2.14%.

While the minimum initial investment for the product is $1,000, investors should also note that there is no minimum for each subsequent investment.

Bottom Line

With a 'strong sell' rank, Oppenheimer SteelPath MLP Income C is in the bottom 20% of all the mutual funds we cover. This means that our models suggest it is one of the worst options for investors in Sector - Energy right now, though this could change if the performance of the fund and the Zacks Ranks of the equities in MLPRX turnaround in the next data release.

For additional information on the Sector - Energy 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 MLPRX too for additional information. If you are more of a stock investor, make sure to also check out our Zacks Rank, and our full suite of tools we have available for novice and professional investors alike.