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Is DFA US Large Cap Value Institutional (DFLVX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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On the lookout for a Mutual Fund Equity Report fund? Starting with DFA US Large Cap Value Institutional (DFLVX - Free Report) is one possibility. DFLVX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

History of Fund/Manager

DFLVX finds itself in the Dimensional family, based out of Austin, TX. Since DFA US Large Cap Value Institutional made its debut in February of 1993, DFLVX has garnered more than $24.72 billion in assets. The fund is currently managed by Jed S. Fogdall who has been in charge of the fund since February of 2012.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. DFLVX has a 5-year annualized total return of 10.91% and is in the middle third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 16.88%, 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. DFLVX's standard deviation over the past three years is 22.11% compared to the category average of 20.38%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 18.86% compared to the category average of 16.71%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

With a 5-year beta of 1.14, the fund 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. DFLVX has generated a negative alpha over the past five years of -8.14, demonstrating that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick 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, DFLVX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.24% compared to the category average of 1%. From a cost perspective, DFLVX is actually cheaper than its peers.

While the minimum initial investment for the product is $0, investors should also note that there is no minimum for each subsequent investment.

Bottom Line

Overall, DFA US Large Cap Value Institutional ( DFLVX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, DFA US Large Cap Value Institutional ( DFLVX ) looks like a great potential choice for investors right now.

Want even more information about DFLVX? Then go over to Zacks.com and check out our mutual fund comparison tool, and all of the other great features that we have to help you with your mutual fund analysis for additional information. Zacks provides a full suite of tools to help you analyze your portfolio - both funds and stocks - in the most efficient way possible.


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