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Is Firsthand Technology Opportunities (TEFQX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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Any investors hoping to find a Sector - Tech fund might consider looking past Firsthand Technology Opportunities (TEFQX - Free Report) . TEFQX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 5 (Strong Sell), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
The world of Sector - Tech funds is an area filled with options, and TEFQX is one of them. Sector - Tech mutual funds allow investors to own a stake in a notoriously volatile sector with a much more diversified approach. Tech companies can be in any number of industries such as semiconductors, software, internet, networking just to name a few.
History of Fund/Manager
TEFQX is a part of the Firsthand family of funds, a company based out of San Jose, CA. Firsthand Technology Opportunities debuted in September of 1999. Since then, TEFQX has accumulated assets of about $345.80 million, according to the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by Kevin M. Landis who has been in charge of the fund since September of 1999.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 18.15%, 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 27.73%, 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. Compared to the category average of 17.16%, the standard deviation of TEFQX over the past three years is 19.58%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 18.61% compared to the category average of 17.08%. 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 TEFQX's case, the fund lost 50.48% in the most recent bear market and outperformed its peer group by 3%. These results could imply that the fund is a better 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. TEFQX has a 5-year beta of 1.15, which means it 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. The fund has produced a positive alpha over the past 5 years of 5.21, which shows that managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
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, TEFQX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.83% compared to the category average of 1.39%. TEFQX is actually more expensive than its peers when you consider factors like cost.
Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $2,000 and that each subsequent investment needs to be at $50.
Bottom Line
Overall, Firsthand Technology Opportunities ( TEFQX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and higher fees, Firsthand Technology Opportunities ( TEFQX ) looks like a poor potential choice for investors right now.
For additional information on the Sector - Tech 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 TEFQX too for additional information. If you are more of a stock investor, make sure to also check out our Zacks Rank, and our full suite of tools we have available for novice and professional investors alike.
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Is Firsthand Technology Opportunities (TEFQX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
Any investors hoping to find a Sector - Tech fund might consider looking past Firsthand Technology Opportunities (TEFQX - Free Report) . TEFQX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 5 (Strong Sell), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
The world of Sector - Tech funds is an area filled with options, and TEFQX is one of them. Sector - Tech mutual funds allow investors to own a stake in a notoriously volatile sector with a much more diversified approach. Tech companies can be in any number of industries such as semiconductors, software, internet, networking just to name a few.
History of Fund/Manager
TEFQX is a part of the Firsthand family of funds, a company based out of San Jose, CA. Firsthand Technology Opportunities debuted in September of 1999. Since then, TEFQX has accumulated assets of about $345.80 million, according to the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by Kevin M. Landis who has been in charge of the fund since September of 1999.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 18.15%, 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 27.73%, 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. Compared to the category average of 17.16%, the standard deviation of TEFQX over the past three years is 19.58%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 18.61% compared to the category average of 17.08%. 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 TEFQX's case, the fund lost 50.48% in the most recent bear market and outperformed its peer group by 3%. These results could imply that the fund is a better 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. TEFQX has a 5-year beta of 1.15, which means it 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. The fund has produced a positive alpha over the past 5 years of 5.21, which shows that managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
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, TEFQX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.83% compared to the category average of 1.39%. TEFQX is actually more expensive than its peers when you consider factors like cost.
Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $2,000 and that each subsequent investment needs to be at $50.
Bottom Line
Overall, Firsthand Technology Opportunities ( TEFQX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and higher fees, Firsthand Technology Opportunities ( TEFQX ) looks like a poor potential choice for investors right now.
For additional information on the Sector - Tech 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 TEFQX too for additional information. If you are more of a stock investor, make sure to also check out our Zacks Rank, and our full suite of tools we have available for novice and professional investors alike.