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Is ProFunds UltraEmerging Markets Investor (UUPIX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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If you have been looking for Non US - Equity funds, it would not be wise to start your search with ProFunds UltraEmerging Markets Investor (UUPIX - Free Report) . UUPIX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 5 (Strong Sell), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

UUPIX is classified in the Non US - Equity area by Zacks, and this segment is full of potential. Non US - Equity funds focus their investments on companies outside of the United States, which is an important distinction since global mutual funds tend to keep a sizable portion of their portfolio based in the United States. Most of these funds will allocate across emerging and developed markets, and can often extend across cap levels too.

History of Fund/Manager

ProFunds is based in Columbus, OH, and is the manager of UUPIX. Since ProFunds UltraEmerging Markets Investor made its debut in April of 2006, UUPIX has garnered more than $12.85 million in assets. The fund is currently managed by Scott Hanson who has been in charge of the fund since August of 2016.

Performance

Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of -5.35%, and is in the bottom third among its category peers. If you're interested in shorter time frames, do not dismiss looking at the fund's 3-year annualized total return of -10.24%, which places it in the bottom 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 UUPIX over the past three years is 39.56% compared to the category average of 11.77%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 40.03% compared to the category average of 11.83%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

One cannot ignore the volatility of this segment, however, as it is always important for investors to remember the downside to any potential investment. In UUPIX's case, the fund lost 89.45% in the most recent bear market and underperformed comparable funds by 31%. These results could imply that the fund is a worse choice than its peers during a sliding market environment.

Even still, the fund has a 5-year beta of 2.21, so investors should note that it is hypothetically more volatile than the market at large. 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. With a negative alpha of -11.93, 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, UUPIX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.84% compared to the category average of 1.22%. So, UUPIX is actually more expensive than its peers from a cost perspective.

Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $15,000; each subsequent investment has no minimum amount.

Bottom Line

Overall, ProFunds UltraEmerging Markets Investor ( UUPIX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, worse downside risk, and higher fees, ProFunds UltraEmerging Markets Investor ( UUPIX ) looks like a somewhat weak choice for investors right now.

This could just be the start of your research on UUPIXin the Non US - Equity 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. 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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