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Is USAA Science & Technology Fund (USSCX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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If you're looking for a Sector - Tech fund category, then a potential option is USAA Science & Technology Fund (USSCX - Free Report) . USSCX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
USSCX 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
USAA Group is based in San Antonio, TX, and is the manager of USSCX. Since USAA Science & Technology Fund made its debut in August of 1997, USSCX has garnered more than $1.33 billion in assets. The fund's current manager is a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. USSCX has a 5-year annualized total return of 13.82% and is 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 20.12%, 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. USSCX's standard deviation over the past three years is 15.77% compared to the category average of 12.68%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 15.22% compared to the category average of 12.45%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
Investors cannot discount the risks to this segment though, as it is always important to remember the downside for any potential investment. In USSCX's case, the fund lost 52.59% in the most recent bear market and outperformed its peer group by 0.72%. This could mean that the fund is a better choice than comparable funds during a bear market.
Nevertheless, investors should also note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 1.19, which means it is hypothetically more 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. The fund has produced a positive alpha over the past 5 years of 1.48, which shows that managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
Holdings
Exploring 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 primarily on equities that are traded in the United States.
The mutual fund currently has 97.49% of its holdings in stocks, which have an average market capitalization of $191.01 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
Technology
Health
Turnover is 56%, which means this fund makes fewer trades than the average comparable fund.
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, USSCX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.04% compared to the category average of 1.31%. So, USSCX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.
While the minimum initial investment for the product is $3,000, investors should also note that each subsequent investment needs to be at least $50.
Bottom Line
Overall, USAA Science & Technology Fund ( USSCX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees compared to its peers.
Don't stop here for your research on Sector - Tech funds. We also have plenty more on our site in order to help you find the best possible fund for your portfolio. Make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for more information about the world of funds, and feel free to compare USSCX to its peers as well 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.
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Is USAA Science & Technology Fund (USSCX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
If you're looking for a Sector - Tech fund category, then a potential option is USAA Science & Technology Fund (USSCX - Free Report) . USSCX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
USSCX 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
USAA Group is based in San Antonio, TX, and is the manager of USSCX. Since USAA Science & Technology Fund made its debut in August of 1997, USSCX has garnered more than $1.33 billion in assets. The fund's current manager is a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. USSCX has a 5-year annualized total return of 13.82% and is 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 20.12%, 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. USSCX's standard deviation over the past three years is 15.77% compared to the category average of 12.68%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 15.22% compared to the category average of 12.45%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
Investors cannot discount the risks to this segment though, as it is always important to remember the downside for any potential investment. In USSCX's case, the fund lost 52.59% in the most recent bear market and outperformed its peer group by 0.72%. This could mean that the fund is a better choice than comparable funds during a bear market.
Nevertheless, investors should also note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 1.19, which means it is hypothetically more 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. The fund has produced a positive alpha over the past 5 years of 1.48, which shows that managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
Holdings
Exploring 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 primarily on equities that are traded in the United States.
The mutual fund currently has 97.49% of its holdings in stocks, which have an average market capitalization of $191.01 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
- Technology
- Health
Turnover is 56%, which means this fund makes fewer trades than the average comparable fund.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, USSCX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.04% compared to the category average of 1.31%. So, USSCX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.
While the minimum initial investment for the product is $3,000, investors should also note that each subsequent investment needs to be at least $50.
Bottom Line
Overall, USAA Science & Technology Fund ( USSCX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees compared to its peers.
Don't stop here for your research on Sector - Tech funds. We also have plenty more on our site in order to help you find the best possible fund for your portfolio. Make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for more information about the world of funds, and feel free to compare USSCX to its peers as well 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.