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Is Franklin Real Estate Security A (FREEX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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Have you been searching for a Sector - Real Estate fund? You might want to begin with Franklin Real Estate Security A (FREEX - Free Report) . FREEX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
FREEX is one of many Sector - Real Estate funds to choose from. Sector - Real Estate mutual funds are known to invest in real estate investment trusts (REITs). A popular income vehicle thanks to its taxation rules, a REIT is required to pay out at least 90% of its income annually to avoid double taxation. This technique makes securities in these funds high dividend players, and even bond-like in some instances, though their risk is similar to equities.
History of Fund/Manager
FREEX finds itself in the Franklin Templeton family, based out of San Mateo, CA. Since Franklin Real Estate Security A made its debut in January of 1994, FREEX has garnered more than $15.16 million in assets. Daniel Scher is the fund's current manager and has held that role since May of 2014.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 5.14%, and is 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 4.88%, 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. FREEX's standard deviation over the past three years is 17.3% compared to the category average of 15.03%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 15.49% compared to the category average of 12.97%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
The fund has a 5-year beta of 0.71, so investors should note that it is hypothetically less 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. FREEX has generated a negative alpha over the past five years of -4.22, demonstrating 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, FREEX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1% compared to the category average of 1.24%. FREEX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.
Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $1,000 and that each subsequent investment has no minimum amount.
Bottom Line
Overall, Franklin Real Estate Security A ( FREEX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Franklin Real Estate Security A ( FREEX ) looks like a somewhat average choice for investors right now.
Your research on the Sector - Real Estate segment doesn't have to stop here. You can check out all the great mutual fund tools we have to offer by going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds to see the additional features we offer 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 Franklin Real Estate Security A (FREEX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
Have you been searching for a Sector - Real Estate fund? You might want to begin with Franklin Real Estate Security A (FREEX - Free Report) . FREEX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
FREEX is one of many Sector - Real Estate funds to choose from. Sector - Real Estate mutual funds are known to invest in real estate investment trusts (REITs). A popular income vehicle thanks to its taxation rules, a REIT is required to pay out at least 90% of its income annually to avoid double taxation. This technique makes securities in these funds high dividend players, and even bond-like in some instances, though their risk is similar to equities.
History of Fund/Manager
FREEX finds itself in the Franklin Templeton family, based out of San Mateo, CA. Since Franklin Real Estate Security A made its debut in January of 1994, FREEX has garnered more than $15.16 million in assets. Daniel Scher is the fund's current manager and has held that role since May of 2014.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 5.14%, and is 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 4.88%, 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. FREEX's standard deviation over the past three years is 17.3% compared to the category average of 15.03%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 15.49% compared to the category average of 12.97%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
The fund has a 5-year beta of 0.71, so investors should note that it is hypothetically less 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. FREEX has generated a negative alpha over the past five years of -4.22, demonstrating 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, FREEX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1% compared to the category average of 1.24%. FREEX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.
Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $1,000 and that each subsequent investment has no minimum amount.
Bottom Line
Overall, Franklin Real Estate Security A ( FREEX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Franklin Real Estate Security A ( FREEX ) looks like a somewhat average choice for investors right now.
Your research on the Sector - Real Estate segment doesn't have to stop here. You can check out all the great mutual fund tools we have to offer by going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds to see the additional features we offer 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.