Mutual Fund Equity Report fund seekers should not consider taking a look at Plumb Balanced (PLBBX Quick QuotePLBBX - Free Report) at this time. PLBBX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 5 (Strong Sell), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

History of Fund/Manager

Plumb is based in Madison, WI, and is the manager of PLBBX. Since Plumb Balanced made its debut in May of 2007, PLBBX has garnered more than $50.50 million in assets. Thomas G. Plumb is the fund's current manager and has held that role since May of 2007.

Performance

Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 6.14%, and is in the middle 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 2.41%, 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. The standard deviation of PLBBX over the past three years is 16.44% compared to the category average of 12.84%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 14.88% compared to the category average of 11.4%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

With a 5-year beta of 0.8, the fund is likely to be less 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. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a negative alpha of -3.93. This means that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

Holdings

Exploring 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.

The mutual fund currently has 77.23% of its holdings in stocks, and these companies have an average market capitalization of $406.93 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:

1. Technology
2. Other

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, PLBBX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.19% compared to the category average of 0.86%. From a cost perspective, PLBBX is actually more expensive than its peers.

Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $2,500 and that each subsequent investment needs to be at $50.

Bottom Line

Overall, Plumb Balanced ( PLBBX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and higher fees, Plumb Balanced ( PLBBX ) looks like a somewhat weak choice for investors right now.

This could just be the start of your research on PLBBXin 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. Zacks provides a full suite of tools to help you analyze your portfolio - both funds and stocks - in the most efficient way possible.