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Is DoubleLine Shiller Enhanced CAPE N (DSENX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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There are plenty of choices in the Mutual Fund Equity Report category, but where should you start your research? Well, one fund that may not be worth investigating is DoubleLine Shiller Enhanced CAPE N (DSENX - Free Report) . DSENX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 4 (Sell), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

History of Fund/Manager

Double Line is based in Los Angeles, CA, and is the manager of DSENX. The DoubleLine Shiller Enhanced CAPE N made its debut in October of 2013 and DSENX has managed to accumulate roughly $566.19 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund's current manager, Jeffrey Sherman, has been in charge of the fund since October of 2013.

Performance

Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 14.39%, and is in the middle third among its category peers. If you're interested in shorter time frames, do not dismiss looking at the fund's 3-year annualized total return of 16.12%, 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. DSENX's standard deviation over the past three years is 21.64% compared to the category average of 16.37%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 18.78% compared to the category average of 14.56%. 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. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a negative alpha of -2.98. This means that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

Holdings

Examining the equity holdings of a mutual fund is also a valuable exercise. This can show us how the manager is applying their stated methodology, as well as if there are any inherent biases in their approach. For this particular fund, the focus is primarily on equities that are traded in the United States.

As of the last filing date, the mutual fund has 75.94% of its assets in stocks and it has a negligible amount of assets in foreign securities. Turnover is 69%, which means this fund makes more trades per year than the comparable average.

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, DSENX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.79% compared to the category average of 0.92%. DSENX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.

Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $2,000; each subsequent investment needs to be at least $100.

Bottom Line

Overall, DoubleLine Shiller Enhanced CAPE N ( DSENX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, DoubleLine Shiller Enhanced CAPE N ( DSENX ) looks like a somewhat weak choice for investors right now.

Don't stop here for your research on Mutual Fund Equity Report 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 DSENX 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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