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Is Van Eck Emerging Markets A (GBFAX) 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 Van Eck Emerging Markets A (GBFAX - Free Report) . GBFAX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 5 (Strong Sell), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
Zacks categorizes GBFAX as Non US - Equity, a segment stacked high with options. Non US - Equity mutual funds like to invest in companies outside of the United States, an important characteristic since global mutual funds are known to keep a good portion of their portfolio stateside. These kinds of funds can often extend across all cap levels, and will typically allocate their investments between emerging and developed markets.
History of Fund/Manager
Van Eck is based in New York, NY, and is the manager of GBFAX. The Van Eck Emerging Markets A made its debut in January of 1994 and GBFAX has managed to accumulate roughly $56.30 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. Angus Shillington is the fund's current manager and has held that role since December of 2009.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of -1.08%, 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 -9.9%, which places it in the bottom third during this time-frame.
It is important to note that the product's returns may not reflect all its expenses. Any fees not reflected would lower the returns. Total returns do not reflect the fund's [%] sale charge. If sales charges were included, total returns would have been lower.
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. GBFAX's standard deviation over the past three years is 19.3% compared to the category average of 14.95%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 20.84% compared to the category average of 16.12%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
With a 5-year beta of 0.86, the fund is likely to be less 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 negative alpha of -10.79. This means that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick 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, GBFAX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.57% compared to the category average of 0.99%. From a cost perspective, GBFAX is actually more expensive than its peers.
This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $1,000, and each subsequent investment should be at least $100.
Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Bottom Line
Overall, Van Eck Emerging Markets A ( GBFAX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, average downside risk, and higher fees, this fund looks like a somewhat weak choice for investors right now.
Don't stop here for your research on Non US - Equity 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 GBFAX to its peers 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 Van Eck Emerging Markets A (GBFAX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
If you have been looking for Non US - Equity funds, it would not be wise to start your search with Van Eck Emerging Markets A (GBFAX - Free Report) . GBFAX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 5 (Strong Sell), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
Zacks categorizes GBFAX as Non US - Equity, a segment stacked high with options. Non US - Equity mutual funds like to invest in companies outside of the United States, an important characteristic since global mutual funds are known to keep a good portion of their portfolio stateside. These kinds of funds can often extend across all cap levels, and will typically allocate their investments between emerging and developed markets.
History of Fund/Manager
Van Eck is based in New York, NY, and is the manager of GBFAX. The Van Eck Emerging Markets A made its debut in January of 1994 and GBFAX has managed to accumulate roughly $56.30 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. Angus Shillington is the fund's current manager and has held that role since December of 2009.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of -1.08%, 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 -9.9%, which places it in the bottom third during this time-frame.
It is important to note that the product's returns may not reflect all its expenses. Any fees not reflected would lower the returns. Total returns do not reflect the fund's [%] sale charge. If sales charges were included, total returns would have been lower.
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. GBFAX's standard deviation over the past three years is 19.3% compared to the category average of 14.95%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 20.84% compared to the category average of 16.12%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
With a 5-year beta of 0.86, the fund is likely to be less 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 negative alpha of -10.79. This means that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick 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, GBFAX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.57% compared to the category average of 0.99%. From a cost perspective, GBFAX is actually more expensive than its peers.
This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $1,000, and each subsequent investment should be at least $100.
Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Bottom Line
Overall, Van Eck Emerging Markets A ( GBFAX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, average downside risk, and higher fees, this fund looks like a somewhat weak choice for investors right now.
Don't stop here for your research on Non US - Equity 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 GBFAX to its peers 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.