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Is ProFunds UltraChina Investor (UGPIX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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If you've been stuck searching for Mutual Fund Equity Report funds, you might want to consider passing on by ProFunds UltraChina Investor (UGPIX - Free Report) as a possibility. UGPIX bears 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

ProFunds is based in Columbus, OH, and is the manager of UGPIX. Since ProFunds UltraChina Investor made its debut in February of 2008, UGPIX has garnered more than $19.45 million in assets. Scott Hanson is the fund's current manager and has held that role since August of 2016.

Performance

Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. UGPIX has a 5-year annualized total return of -26.76% and is in the bottom third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of -33.01%, 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. Compared to the category average of 26.75%, the standard deviation of UGPIX over the past three years is 51.91%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 49.56% compared to the category average of 24.25%. 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 1.09, so it is likely going to be more volatile than the market at large. 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. UGPIX has generated a negative alpha over the past five years of -27.98, demonstrating that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

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, UGPIX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.67% compared to the category average of 1.49%. From a cost perspective, UGPIX is actually more expensive than its peers.

While the minimum initial investment for the product is $15,000, investors should also note that there is no minimum for each subsequent investment.

Bottom Line

Overall, ProFunds UltraChina Investor ( UGPIX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, worse downside risk, and higher fees, ProFunds UltraChina Investor ( UGPIX ) looks like a somewhat weak choice for investors right now.

Want even more information about UGPIX? 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. 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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