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Is Shelton Nasdaq-100 Index Direct (NASDX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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Any investors who are searching for Index funds should take a look at Shelton Nasdaq-100 Index Direct (NASDX - Free Report) . NASDX has no Zacks Mutual Fund Rank, but we have been able to look into other metrics like performance, volatility, and cost.
History of Fund/Manager
NASDX finds itself in the Shelton family, based out of San Francisco, CA. The Shelton Nasdaq-100 Index Direct made its debut in April of 2000 and NASDX has managed to accumulate roughly $620.43 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by Stephen C. Rogers who has been in charge of the fund since December of 2003.
Performance
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 17.15%, and it sits 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 21.28%, 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. The standard deviation of NASDX over the past three years is 13.47% compared to the category average of 7.63%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 14.05% compared to the category average of 8.93%. 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. In NASDX's case, the fund lost 49.71% in the most recent bear market and underperformed its peer group by 3.98%. This means that the fund could possibly be a worse choice than its peers during a down market environment.
Investors should not forget about beta, an important way to measure a mutual fund's risk compared to the market as a whole. NASDX has a 5-year beta of 1.15, which means it is likely to be more volatile than the market average. 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. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a positive alpha of 3.72. This means that managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking 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, NASDX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.51% compared to the category average of 0.76%. From a cost perspective, NASDX is actually cheaper than its peers.
Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $1,000; each subsequent investment needs to be at least $100.
Bottom Line
Don't stop here for your research on Index 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 NASDX 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 Shelton Nasdaq-100 Index Direct (NASDX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
Any investors who are searching for Index funds should take a look at Shelton Nasdaq-100 Index Direct (NASDX - Free Report) . NASDX has no Zacks Mutual Fund Rank, but we have been able to look into other metrics like performance, volatility, and cost.
History of Fund/Manager
NASDX finds itself in the Shelton family, based out of San Francisco, CA. The Shelton Nasdaq-100 Index Direct made its debut in April of 2000 and NASDX has managed to accumulate roughly $620.43 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by Stephen C. Rogers who has been in charge of the fund since December of 2003.
Performance
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 17.15%, and it sits 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 21.28%, 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. The standard deviation of NASDX over the past three years is 13.47% compared to the category average of 7.63%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 14.05% compared to the category average of 8.93%. 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. In NASDX's case, the fund lost 49.71% in the most recent bear market and underperformed its peer group by 3.98%. This means that the fund could possibly be a worse choice than its peers during a down market environment.
Investors should not forget about beta, an important way to measure a mutual fund's risk compared to the market as a whole. NASDX has a 5-year beta of 1.15, which means it is likely to be more volatile than the market average. 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. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a positive alpha of 3.72. This means that managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking 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, NASDX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.51% compared to the category average of 0.76%. From a cost perspective, NASDX is actually cheaper than its peers.
Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $1,000; each subsequent investment needs to be at least $100.
Bottom Line
Don't stop here for your research on Index 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 NASDX 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.