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Is Columbia Seligman Communications and Information A (SLMCX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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On the lookout for a Mutual Fund Equity Report fund? Starting with Columbia Seligman Communications and Information A (SLMCX - Free Report) is one possibility. SLMCX holds 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
SLMCX finds itself in the Columbia family, based out of Kansas City, MO. Columbia Seligman Communications and Information A made its debut in June of 1983, and since then, SLMCX has accumulated about $7.84 billion in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund is currently managed by a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. SLMCX has a 5-year annualized total return of 29.48% 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 38.94%, 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. SLMCX's standard deviation over the past three years is 23.43% compared to the category average of 15.91%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 20.37% compared to the category average of 13.58%. 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 1.15, which means it is hypothetically more volatile than the market at large. Because alpha represents a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which is the S&P 500 in this case, one should pay attention to this metric as well. SLMCX has generated a positive alpha over the past five years of 8.11, demonstrating that managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking 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, SLMCX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.20% compared to the category average of 1.35%. From a cost perspective, SLMCX is actually cheaper than its peers.
Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $2,000; each subsequent investment has no minimum amount.
Bottom Line
Overall, Columbia Seligman Communications and Information A ( SLMCX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, worse downside risk, and lower fees, Columbia Seligman Communications and Information A ( SLMCX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
This could just be the start of your research on SLMCXin the Mutual Fund Equity Report 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. 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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Is Columbia Seligman Communications and Information A (SLMCX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
On the lookout for a Mutual Fund Equity Report fund? Starting with Columbia Seligman Communications and Information A (SLMCX - Free Report) is one possibility. SLMCX holds 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
SLMCX finds itself in the Columbia family, based out of Kansas City, MO. Columbia Seligman Communications and Information A made its debut in June of 1983, and since then, SLMCX has accumulated about $7.84 billion in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund is currently managed by a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. SLMCX has a 5-year annualized total return of 29.48% 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 38.94%, 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. SLMCX's standard deviation over the past three years is 23.43% compared to the category average of 15.91%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 20.37% compared to the category average of 13.58%. 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 1.15, which means it is hypothetically more volatile than the market at large. Because alpha represents a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which is the S&P 500 in this case, one should pay attention to this metric as well. SLMCX has generated a positive alpha over the past five years of 8.11, demonstrating that managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking 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, SLMCX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.20% compared to the category average of 1.35%. From a cost perspective, SLMCX is actually cheaper than its peers.
Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $2,000; each subsequent investment has no minimum amount.
Bottom Line
Overall, Columbia Seligman Communications and Information A ( SLMCX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, worse downside risk, and lower fees, Columbia Seligman Communications and Information A ( SLMCX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
This could just be the start of your research on SLMCXin the Mutual Fund Equity Report 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. 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.