If you have been looking for Sector - Energy fund category, a potential starting could be ICON Energy S . ICENX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
ICENX is one of many Sector - Energy funds to choose from. Sector - Energy mutual funds are comprised of various changing and hugely important industries throughout the massive global energy sector. Even though clean energy is beginning to pick up steam, oil and gas companies have the highest exposure, but carbon-based fuels will be the biggest group of assets in these funds.
History of Fund/Manager
ICENX is a part of the ICON Funds family of funds, a company based out of Greenwood Village, CO. The ICON Energy S made its debut in November of 1997 and ICENX has managed to accumulate roughly $120.70 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by Derek Rollingson who has been in charge of the fund since May of 2007.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of -9.64%, But if you are looking for a shorter time frame, it is also worth looking at its 3-year annualized total return of -1.6%.
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 the most recent bear market, ICENX lost 42.42%. This compares to a roughly 50.7% slump for the broad U.S. stock market, so ICENX has outperformed the average in the last market downturn.
Nevertheless, with a 5-year beta of 1.13, the fund is likely to be more volatile than 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 negative alpha of -18.36. This means that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
Expenses
For investors, taking a closer look at cost-related metrics is key, since costs are increasingly important for mutual fund investing. Competition is heating up in this space, and a lower cost product will likely outperform its otherwise identical counterpart, all things being equal. In terms of fees, ICENX is a no load fund and it has an expense ratio of 1.50%.
While the minimum initial investment for the product is $1,000, investors should also note that each subsequent investment needs to be at least $100.
Bottom Line
With a rank of 'hold' we aren't getting a good signal one way or another on ICENX. That is why it might be a good idea to consider other items, such as the fund's expense ratio of 1.5%, and how this compares to other potential options being considered for investment. If cheaper, it might make a decent choice, but a more expensive fund might be worth avoiding. Just make sure to pay attention to its rank in case it shifts in the near future.
Want even more information about ICENX? 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. If you want to check out our stock reports as well, make sure to go to Zacks.com to see all of the great tools we have to offer, including our time-tested Zacks Rank.
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Is ICON Energy S (ICENX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
If you have been looking for Sector - Energy fund category, a potential starting could be ICON Energy S . ICENX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
ICENX is one of many Sector - Energy funds to choose from. Sector - Energy mutual funds are comprised of various changing and hugely important industries throughout the massive global energy sector. Even though clean energy is beginning to pick up steam, oil and gas companies have the highest exposure, but carbon-based fuels will be the biggest group of assets in these funds.
History of Fund/Manager
ICENX is a part of the ICON Funds family of funds, a company based out of Greenwood Village, CO. The ICON Energy S made its debut in November of 1997 and ICENX has managed to accumulate roughly $120.70 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by Derek Rollingson who has been in charge of the fund since May of 2007.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of -9.64%, But if you are looking for a shorter time frame, it is also worth looking at its 3-year annualized total return of -1.6%.
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 the most recent bear market, ICENX lost 42.42%. This compares to a roughly 50.7% slump for the broad U.S. stock market, so ICENX has outperformed the average in the last market downturn.
Nevertheless, with a 5-year beta of 1.13, the fund is likely to be more volatile than 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 negative alpha of -18.36. This means that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
Expenses
For investors, taking a closer look at cost-related metrics is key, since costs are increasingly important for mutual fund investing. Competition is heating up in this space, and a lower cost product will likely outperform its otherwise identical counterpart, all things being equal. In terms of fees, ICENX is a no load fund and it has an expense ratio of 1.50%.
While the minimum initial investment for the product is $1,000, investors should also note that each subsequent investment needs to be at least $100.
Bottom Line
With a rank of 'hold' we aren't getting a good signal one way or another on ICENX. That is why it might be a good idea to consider other items, such as the fund's expense ratio of 1.5%, and how this compares to other potential options being considered for investment. If cheaper, it might make a decent choice, but a more expensive fund might be worth avoiding. Just make sure to pay attention to its rank in case it shifts in the near future.
Want even more information about ICENX? 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. If you want to check out our stock reports as well, make sure to go to Zacks.com to see all of the great tools we have to offer, including our time-tested Zacks Rank.