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Is American Funds Washington Mutual Investors F (WSHFX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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Large Cap Value fund seekers should consider taking a look at American Funds Washington Mutual Investors F (WSHFX - Free Report) . WSHFX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
WSHFX is classified in the Large Cap Value segment by Zacks, which is an area full of possibilities. Investors interested in a stable income stream fund these mutual funds very appealing because they have a unique investing strategy. Large Cap Value funds invest in stocks with a market capitalization of $10 billion or more, but whose share prices do not reflect their intrinsic value. This tactic often leads to low P/E ratios and high dividend yields; however, these funds'high growth opportunity are often slowed, as large-cap securities are generally in stable industries with low to moderate growth prospects.
History of Fund/Manager
WSHFX is a part of the American Funds family of funds, a company based out of Los Angeles, CA. The American Funds Washington Mutual Investors F made its debut in July of 1952 and WSHFX has managed to accumulate roughly $2.36 billion in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund's current manager is a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 13.7%, and is in the bottom 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 12.98%, 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 WSHFX over the past three years is 17.02% compared to the category average of 15.14%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 13.86% compared to the category average of 12.72%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
With a 5-year beta of 0.91, the fund is likely to be less volatile than the market average. 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. The fund has produced a negative alpha over the past 5 years of -0.99, which shows that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
Holdings
Exploring the equity holdings of a mutual fund is also a valuable exercise. This can show us how the manager is applying their stated methodology, as well as if there are any inherent biases in their approach. For this particular fund, the focus is mostly on equities that are traded in the United States.
Right now, 91.36% of this mutual fund's holdings are stocks, which have an average market capitalization of $255.40 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
Finance
Technology
Industrial Cyclical
Turnover is 22%, which means, on average, the fund makes fewer trades than its comparable peers.
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, WSHFX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.64% compared to the category average of 0.96%. WSHFX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.
While the minimum initial investment for the product is $250, investors should also note that each subsequent investment needs to be at least $50.
Bottom Line
Overall, American Funds Washington Mutual Investors F ( WSHFX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a great potential choice for investors right now.
Don't stop here for your research on Large Cap Value 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 WSHFX to its peers as well for additional information. If you are more of a stock investor, make sure to also check out our Zacks Rank, and our full suite of tools we have available for novice and professional investors alike.
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Is American Funds Washington Mutual Investors F (WSHFX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
Large Cap Value fund seekers should consider taking a look at American Funds Washington Mutual Investors F (WSHFX - Free Report) . WSHFX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
WSHFX is classified in the Large Cap Value segment by Zacks, which is an area full of possibilities. Investors interested in a stable income stream fund these mutual funds very appealing because they have a unique investing strategy. Large Cap Value funds invest in stocks with a market capitalization of $10 billion or more, but whose share prices do not reflect their intrinsic value. This tactic often leads to low P/E ratios and high dividend yields; however, these funds'high growth opportunity are often slowed, as large-cap securities are generally in stable industries with low to moderate growth prospects.
History of Fund/Manager
WSHFX is a part of the American Funds family of funds, a company based out of Los Angeles, CA. The American Funds Washington Mutual Investors F made its debut in July of 1952 and WSHFX has managed to accumulate roughly $2.36 billion in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund's current manager is a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 13.7%, and is in the bottom 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 12.98%, 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 WSHFX over the past three years is 17.02% compared to the category average of 15.14%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 13.86% compared to the category average of 12.72%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
With a 5-year beta of 0.91, the fund is likely to be less volatile than the market average. 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. The fund has produced a negative alpha over the past 5 years of -0.99, which shows that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
Holdings
Exploring the equity holdings of a mutual fund is also a valuable exercise. This can show us how the manager is applying their stated methodology, as well as if there are any inherent biases in their approach. For this particular fund, the focus is mostly on equities that are traded in the United States.
Right now, 91.36% of this mutual fund's holdings are stocks, which have an average market capitalization of $255.40 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
- Finance
- Technology
- Industrial Cyclical
Turnover is 22%, which means, on average, the fund makes fewer trades than its comparable peers.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, WSHFX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.64% compared to the category average of 0.96%. WSHFX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.
While the minimum initial investment for the product is $250, investors should also note that each subsequent investment needs to be at least $50.
Bottom Line
Overall, American Funds Washington Mutual Investors F ( WSHFX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a great potential choice for investors right now.
Don't stop here for your research on Large Cap Value 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 WSHFX to its peers as well for additional information. If you are more of a stock investor, make sure to also check out our Zacks Rank, and our full suite of tools we have available for novice and professional investors alike.