Any investors hoping to find a Mutual Fund Equity Report fund could think about starting with DFA US Large Cap Value III (DFUVX Quick QuoteDFUVX - Free Report) . DFUVX 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

Dimensional is responsible for DFUVX, and the company is based out of Austin, TX. DFA US Large Cap Value III made its debut in February of 1995, and since then, DFUVX has accumulated about $4.38 billion in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund's current manager, Jed S. Fogdall, has been in charge of the fund since February of 2012.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. DFUVX has a 5-year annualized total return of 11.05% 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 17.03%, which places it in the middle 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 DFUVX over the past three years is 22.08% compared to the category average of 20.38%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 18.84% compared to the category average of 16.71%. 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. DFUVX has a 5-year beta of 1.14, which means it is likely to be more volatile than the market average. Another factor to consider is alpha, as it reflects a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark-in this case, the S&P 500. DFUVX has generated a negative alpha over the past five years of -8.01, 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, DFUVX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.14% compared to the category average of 1%. DFUVX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.

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 III ( DFUVX ) 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 III ( DFUVX ) looks like a great potential choice for investors right now.

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