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Is Brown Advisory Flexible Equity Investor (BIAFX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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If investors are looking at the Allocation Balanced fund category, Brown Advisory Flexible Equity Investor (BIAFX - Free Report) could be a potential option. BIAFX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
BIAFX 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
Brown Adv Fds is based in Baltimore, MD, and is the manager of BIAFX. Brown Advisory Flexible Equity Investor made its debut in December of 2006, and since then, BIAFX has accumulated about $324.48 million in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund is currently managed by R. Hutchings Vernon who has been in charge of the fund since May of 2008.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 10.41%, and is in the top third among its category peers. But if you are looking for a shorter time frame, it is also worth looking at its 3-year annualized total return of 16.7%, 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 BIAFX over the past three years is 13.35% compared to the category average of 8.61%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 13.15% compared to the category average of 8.84%. 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 BIAFX's case, the fund lost 52.7% in the most recent bear market and underperformed its peer group by 16.42%. 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. BIAFX has a 5-year beta of 1.06, which means it is likely to be more volatile than the market average. Another factor to consider is alpha, as it reflects a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark-in this case, the S&P 500. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a negative alpha of -0.7. This means that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
Holdings
Examining 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 mostly on equities that are traded in the United States.
Right now, 94.18% of this mutual fund's holdings are stocks, with an average market capitalization of $257.17 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
Technology
Finance
Retail Trade
Turnover is about 15%, so those in charge of the fund make fewer trades than comparable funds.
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, BIAFX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.72% compared to the category average of 0.89%. From a cost perspective, BIAFX is actually cheaper than its peers.
Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $100 and that each subsequent investment needs to be at $100.
Bottom Line
Overall, Brown Advisory Flexible Equity Investor ( BIAFX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees compared to its peers.
This could just be the start of your research on BIAFXin the Allocation Balanced category. Consider going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for additional information about this fund, and all the others that we rank as well for additional information. Want to learn even more? We have a full suite of tools on stocks that you can use to find the best choices for your portfolio too, no matter what kind of investor you are.
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Is Brown Advisory Flexible Equity Investor (BIAFX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
If investors are looking at the Allocation Balanced fund category, Brown Advisory Flexible Equity Investor (BIAFX - Free Report) could be a potential option. BIAFX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
BIAFX 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
Brown Adv Fds is based in Baltimore, MD, and is the manager of BIAFX. Brown Advisory Flexible Equity Investor made its debut in December of 2006, and since then, BIAFX has accumulated about $324.48 million in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund is currently managed by R. Hutchings Vernon who has been in charge of the fund since May of 2008.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 10.41%, and is in the top third among its category peers. But if you are looking for a shorter time frame, it is also worth looking at its 3-year annualized total return of 16.7%, 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 BIAFX over the past three years is 13.35% compared to the category average of 8.61%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 13.15% compared to the category average of 8.84%. 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 BIAFX's case, the fund lost 52.7% in the most recent bear market and underperformed its peer group by 16.42%. 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. BIAFX has a 5-year beta of 1.06, which means it is likely to be more volatile than the market average. Another factor to consider is alpha, as it reflects a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark-in this case, the S&P 500. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a negative alpha of -0.7. This means that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
Holdings
Examining 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 mostly on equities that are traded in the United States.
Right now, 94.18% of this mutual fund's holdings are stocks, with an average market capitalization of $257.17 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
- Technology
- Finance
- Retail Trade
Turnover is about 15%, so those in charge of the fund make fewer trades than comparable funds.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, BIAFX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.72% compared to the category average of 0.89%. From a cost perspective, BIAFX is actually cheaper than its peers.
Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $100 and that each subsequent investment needs to be at $100.
Bottom Line
Overall, Brown Advisory Flexible Equity Investor ( BIAFX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees compared to its peers.
This could just be the start of your research on BIAFXin the Allocation Balanced category. Consider going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for additional information about this fund, and all the others that we rank as well for additional information. Want to learn even more? We have a full suite of tools on stocks that you can use to find the best choices for your portfolio too, no matter what kind of investor you are.