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Is Berkshire Focus Fund (BFOCX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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If you have been looking for Large Cap Growth funds, it would not be wise to start your search with Berkshire Focus Fund (BFOCX - Free Report) . BFOCX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 5 (Strong Sell), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
BFOCX is part of the Large Cap Growth section, and this segment boasts an array of other possible options. Large Cap Growth mutual funds purchase stakes in numerous large U.S. companies that are expected to develop and grow at a faster rate than other large-cap stocks. Companies are usually considered to be large-cap if their market capitalization is over $10 billion.
History of Fund/Manager
Berkshire is based in Mikwaukee, WI, and is the manager of BFOCX. The Berkshire Focus Fund made its debut in July of 1997 and BFOCX has managed to accumulate roughly $853.89 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by Malcolm R. Fobes III who has been in charge of the fund since July of 1997.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 36.65%, and is 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 34.55%, 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, BFOCX's standard deviation comes in at 27.72%, compared to the category average of 23.53%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 23.36% compared to the category average of 19.8%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
Investors should not forget about beta, an important way to measure a mutual fund's risk compared to the market as a whole. BFOCX has a 5-year beta of 1.12, which means it is likely to be more 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. BFOCX has generated a positive alpha over the past five years of 15.73, demonstrating that managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking 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, BFOCX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.92% compared to the category average of 1.02%. From a cost perspective, BFOCX is actually more expensive than its peers.
This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $5,000, and each subsequent investment should be at least $500.
Bottom Line
Overall, Berkshire Focus Fund ( BFOCX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and higher fees, Berkshire Focus Fund ( BFOCX ) looks like a poor potential choice for investors right now.
This could just be the start of your research on BFOCXin the Large Cap Growth category. Consider going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for additional information about this fund, and all the others that we rank 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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Is Berkshire Focus Fund (BFOCX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
If you have been looking for Large Cap Growth funds, it would not be wise to start your search with Berkshire Focus Fund (BFOCX - Free Report) . BFOCX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 5 (Strong Sell), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
BFOCX is part of the Large Cap Growth section, and this segment boasts an array of other possible options. Large Cap Growth mutual funds purchase stakes in numerous large U.S. companies that are expected to develop and grow at a faster rate than other large-cap stocks. Companies are usually considered to be large-cap if their market capitalization is over $10 billion.
History of Fund/Manager
Berkshire is based in Mikwaukee, WI, and is the manager of BFOCX. The Berkshire Focus Fund made its debut in July of 1997 and BFOCX has managed to accumulate roughly $853.89 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by Malcolm R. Fobes III who has been in charge of the fund since July of 1997.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 36.65%, and is 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 34.55%, 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, BFOCX's standard deviation comes in at 27.72%, compared to the category average of 23.53%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 23.36% compared to the category average of 19.8%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
Investors should not forget about beta, an important way to measure a mutual fund's risk compared to the market as a whole. BFOCX has a 5-year beta of 1.12, which means it is likely to be more 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. BFOCX has generated a positive alpha over the past five years of 15.73, demonstrating that managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking 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, BFOCX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.92% compared to the category average of 1.02%. From a cost perspective, BFOCX is actually more expensive than its peers.
This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $5,000, and each subsequent investment should be at least $500.
Bottom Line
Overall, Berkshire Focus Fund ( BFOCX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and higher fees, Berkshire Focus Fund ( BFOCX ) looks like a poor potential choice for investors right now.
This could just be the start of your research on BFOCXin the Large Cap Growth category. Consider going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for additional information about this fund, and all the others that we rank 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.