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Is Dreyfus Natural Resources A (DNLAX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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Any investors hoping to find a Sector - Energy fund could think about starting with Dreyfus Natural Resources A (DNLAX - Free Report) . DNLAX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

DNLAX is one of many Sector - Energy funds to choose from. Sector - Energy mutual funds are comprised of various changing and hugely important industries throughout the massive global energy sector. Even though clean energy is beginning to pick up steam, oil and gas companies have the highest exposure, but carbon-based fuels will be the biggest group of assets in these funds.

History of Fund/Manager

DNLAX finds itself in the BNY Mellon family, based out of New York, NY. Dreyfus Natural Resources A made its debut in October of 2003, and since then, DNLAX has accumulated about $56.51 million in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. Albert Chu is the fund's current manager and has held that role since October of 2019.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 11.54%, and it sits in the top third among its category peers. But if you are looking for a shorter time frame, it is also worth looking at its 3-year annualized total return of 5.24%, 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. Over the past three years, DNLAX's standard deviation comes in at 27.23%, compared to the category average of 18.22%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 22.98% compared to the category average of 15.32%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

Investors should note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 1.26, which means it is hypothetically more 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. With a negative alpha of -6.97, 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, DNLAX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.26% compared to the category average of 1.54%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, DNLAX 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, Dreyfus Natural Resources A ( DNLAX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, worse 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 Sector - Energy 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 DNLAX to its peers as well for additional information. If you want to check out our stock reports as well, make sure to go to Zacks.com to see all of the great tools we have to offer, including our time-tested Zacks Rank.


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