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Is ProFunds UltraNASDAQ-100 Fund Investor (UOPIX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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Any investors hoping to find an Index fund could think about starting with ProFunds UltraNASDAQ-100 Fund Investor (UOPIX - Free Report) . UOPIX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

History of Fund/Manager

ProFunds is based in Columbus, OH, and is the manager of UOPIX. ProFunds UltraNASDAQ-100 Fund Investor made its debut in December of 1997, and since then, UOPIX has accumulated about $855.82 million in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund's current manager, Michael Neches, has been in charge of the fund since October of 2013.

Performance

Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 48.51%, 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 49.31%, 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. Compared to the category average of 26.4%, the standard deviation of UOPIX over the past three years is 41.98%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 35.17% compared to the category average of 22.31%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

The fund has a 5-year beta of 2.16, so investors should note that 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. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a positive alpha of 10.78. This means that managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

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, UOPIX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.57% compared to the category average of 0.80%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, UOPIX is actually more expensive than its peers.

This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $15,000, while there is no minimum for each subsequent investment.

Bottom Line

Overall, ProFunds UltraNASDAQ-100 Fund Investor ( UOPIX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, worse downside risk, and higher fees, ProFunds UltraNASDAQ-100 Fund Investor ( UOPIX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.

Don't stop here for your research on Index 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 UOPIX 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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