If investors are looking at the Mutual Fund Equity Report fund category, MFS Value R6 (MEIKX Quick QuoteMEIKX - Free Report) could be a potential option. MEIKX possesses 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

MEIKX is a part of the MFS family of funds, a company based out of Boston, MA. MFS Value R6 made its debut in June of 2012, and since then, MEIKX has accumulated about $21.57 billion in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund's current manager, Nevin P. Chitkara, has been in charge of the fund since June of 2012.

Performance

Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 8.61%, and it sits 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 9.33%, 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 MEIKX over the past three years is 19.96% compared to the category average of 17.17%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 17.83% compared to the category average of 15.07%. 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 0.92, which means it is hypothetically less volatile than the market at large. 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. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a negative alpha of -1.39. This means 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 primarily on equities that are traded in the United States.

As of the last filing date, the mutual fund has 83.35% of its assets in stocks, with an average market capitalization of $114.02 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:

1. Finance
2. Industrial Cyclical
3. Non-Durable

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, MEIKX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.43% compared to the category average of 0.99%. MEIKX 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 $0; each subsequent investment has no minimum amount.

Bottom Line

Overall, MFS Value R6 ( MEIKX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, MFS Value R6 ( MEIKX ) looks like a great potential choice for investors right now.

This could just be the start of your research on MEIKXin 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. If you are more of a stock investor, make sure to also check out our Zacks Rank, and our full suite of tools we have available for novice and professional investors alike.