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Is Shelton Nasdaq-100 Index Direct (NASDX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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Are you on the hunt for an Index fund? You should think about starting with 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
Shelton is responsible for NASDX, and the company is based out of San Francisco, CA. Since Shelton Nasdaq-100 Index Direct made its debut in April of 2000, NASDX has garnered more than $624.38 million in assets. Stephen C. Rogers is the fund's current manager and has held that role 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 14.5%, 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 18.85%, 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 14.65% compared to the category average of 7.28%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 14.91% compared to the category average of 8.24%. 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 NASDX's case, the fund lost 49.7% in the most recent bear market and underperformed comparable funds by 6%. These results could imply that the fund is a worse choice than its peers during a sliding 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 1.16, 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 positive alpha of 2.15. This means that managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking 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 primarily on equities that are traded in the United States.
The mutual fund currently has 95.43% of its holdings in stocks, which have an average market capitalization of $281.67 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
Technology
Retail Trade
Non-Durable
With turnover at about 16%, this fund is making fewer trades than the average comparable fund.
Expenses
As competition heats up in the mutual fund market, costs become increasingly important. Compared to its otherwise identical counterpart, a low-cost product will be an outperformer, all other things being equal. Thus, taking a closer look at cost-related metrics is vital for investors. In terms of fees, NASDX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.25% compared to the category average of 0.86%. So, NASDX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.
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
For additional information on the Index 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 NASDX too for additional information. And don't forget, Zacks has all of your needs covered on the equity side too! Make sure to check out Zacks.com for more information on our screening capabilities, Rank, and all our articles as well.
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Is Shelton Nasdaq-100 Index Direct (NASDX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
Are you on the hunt for an Index fund? You should think about starting with 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
Shelton is responsible for NASDX, and the company is based out of San Francisco, CA. Since Shelton Nasdaq-100 Index Direct made its debut in April of 2000, NASDX has garnered more than $624.38 million in assets. Stephen C. Rogers is the fund's current manager and has held that role 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 14.5%, 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 18.85%, 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 14.65% compared to the category average of 7.28%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 14.91% compared to the category average of 8.24%. 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 NASDX's case, the fund lost 49.7% in the most recent bear market and underperformed comparable funds by 6%. These results could imply that the fund is a worse choice than its peers during a sliding 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 1.16, 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 positive alpha of 2.15. This means that managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking 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 primarily on equities that are traded in the United States.
The mutual fund currently has 95.43% of its holdings in stocks, which have an average market capitalization of $281.67 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
- Technology
- Retail Trade
- Non-Durable
With turnover at about 16%, this fund is making fewer trades than the average comparable fund.Expenses
As competition heats up in the mutual fund market, costs become increasingly important. Compared to its otherwise identical counterpart, a low-cost product will be an outperformer, all other things being equal. Thus, taking a closer look at cost-related metrics is vital for investors. In terms of fees, NASDX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.25% compared to the category average of 0.86%. So, NASDX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.
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
For additional information on the Index 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 NASDX too for additional information. And don't forget, Zacks has all of your needs covered on the equity side too! Make sure to check out Zacks.com for more information on our screening capabilities, Rank, and all our articles as well.