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Is Baron Fifth Avenue Growth Retail (BFTHX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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Mutual Fund Equity Report fund seekers should not consider taking a look at Baron Fifth Avenue Growth Retail (BFTHX - Free Report) at this time. BFTHX bears 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
Baron is based in New York, NY, and is the manager of BFTHX. The Baron Fifth Avenue Growth Retail made its debut in May of 2004 and BFTHX has managed to accumulate roughly $136.50 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. Alex Umansky is the fund's current manager and has held that role since November of 2011.
Performance
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 4.49%, 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 -0.99%, 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. BFTHX's standard deviation over the past three years is 27.61% compared to the category average of 18.88%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 23.81% compared to the category average of 16.63%. 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. BFTHX has a 5-year beta of 1.09, 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. BFTHX has generated a negative alpha over the past five years of -5.2, demonstrating that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
Holdings
Investigating 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 largely on equities that are traded in the United States.
Right now, 92.47% of this mutual fund's holdings are stocks, which have an average market capitalization of $267.29 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
Technology
Retail Trade
This fund's turnover is about 41.8%, so the fund managers are making fewer trades than the average comparable fund.
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, BFTHX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.02% compared to the category average of 0.99%. So, BFTHX is actually more expensive than its peers from a cost perspective.
Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $2,000 and that each subsequent investment has no minimum amount.
Bottom Line
Overall, Baron Fifth Avenue Growth Retail ( BFTHX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, worse downside risk, and higher fees, this fund looks like a somewhat weak choice for investors right now.
For additional information on this product, or to compare it to other mutual funds in the Mutual Fund Equity Report, make sure to go to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for additional information. And don't forget, Zacks has all of your needs covered on the equity side too! Make sure to check out Zacks.com for more information on our screening capabilities, Rank, and all our articles as well.
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Is Baron Fifth Avenue Growth Retail (BFTHX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
Mutual Fund Equity Report fund seekers should not consider taking a look at Baron Fifth Avenue Growth Retail (BFTHX - Free Report) at this time. BFTHX bears 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
Baron is based in New York, NY, and is the manager of BFTHX. The Baron Fifth Avenue Growth Retail made its debut in May of 2004 and BFTHX has managed to accumulate roughly $136.50 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. Alex Umansky is the fund's current manager and has held that role since November of 2011.
Performance
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 4.49%, 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 -0.99%, 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. BFTHX's standard deviation over the past three years is 27.61% compared to the category average of 18.88%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 23.81% compared to the category average of 16.63%. 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. BFTHX has a 5-year beta of 1.09, 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. BFTHX has generated a negative alpha over the past five years of -5.2, demonstrating that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
Holdings
Investigating 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 largely on equities that are traded in the United States.
Right now, 92.47% of this mutual fund's holdings are stocks, which have an average market capitalization of $267.29 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
- Technology
- Retail Trade
This fund's turnover is about 41.8%, so the fund managers are making fewer trades than the average comparable fund.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, BFTHX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.02% compared to the category average of 0.99%. So, BFTHX is actually more expensive than its peers from a cost perspective.
Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $2,000 and that each subsequent investment has no minimum amount.
Bottom Line
Overall, Baron Fifth Avenue Growth Retail ( BFTHX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, worse downside risk, and higher fees, this fund looks like a somewhat weak choice for investors right now.
For additional information on this product, or to compare it to other mutual funds in the Mutual Fund Equity Report, make sure to go to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for additional information. And don't forget, Zacks has all of your needs covered on the equity side too! Make sure to check out Zacks.com for more information on our screening capabilities, Rank, and all our articles as well.