Is Oakmark Equity and Income Investor (OAKBX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

OAKBX

If you've been stuck searching for Allocation Balanced funds, consider Oakmark Equity and Income Investor (OAKBX - Free Report) as a possibility. OAKBX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

History of Fund/Manager

Oakmark is responsible for OAKBX, and the company is based out of Kansas City, MO. Oakmark Equity and Income Investor debuted in November of 1995. Since then, OAKBX has accumulated assets of about $13.89 billion, according to the most recently available information. A team of investment professionals is the fund's current manager.

Performance

Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 10%, 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 8.71%, which places it in the middle 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. OAKBX's standard deviation over the past three years is 7.75% compared to the category average of 8.16%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 7.62% compared to the category average of 6.55%. 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. OAKBX lost 24.79% in the most recent bear market and outperformed its peer group by 11.39%. This could mean that the fund is a better choice than comparable funds during a bear market.

Even still, the fund has a 5-year beta of 0.73, so investors should note that it is hypothetically less volatile than the market at large. 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. OAKBX's 5-year performance has produced a negative alpha of -1.42, which means managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

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, OAKBX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.78% compared to the category average of 0.90%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, OAKBX is actually cheaper than its peers.

Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $1,000; each subsequent investment needs to be at least $100.

Bottom Line

Overall, Oakmark Equity and Income Investor has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.

Don't stop here for your research on Allocation Balanced 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 OAKBX to its peers as well for additional information. For analysis of the rest of your portfolio, make sure to visit Zacks.com for our full suite of tools which will help you investigate all of your stocks and funds in one place.

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