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Is Ariel Fund Investor (ARGFX) 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 Ariel Fund Investor (ARGFX - Free Report) . ARGFX possesses 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
Ariel is responsible for ARGFX, and the company is based out of Chicago, IL. Ariel Fund Investor made its debut in November of 1986, and since then, ARGFX has accumulated about $1.28 billion in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund is currently managed by a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. ARGFX has a 5-year annualized total return of 5.76% and it sits 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 8.06%, 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 ARGFX over the past three years is 28.55% compared to the category average of 20.92%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 25.41% compared to the category average of 18.36%. 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. ARGFX has a 5-year beta of 1.26, which means it is likely to be more 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 -5.92. 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 largely on equities that are traded in the United States.
This fund is currently holding about 77.88% stock in stocks, with an average market capitalization of $7.58 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
Non-Durable
Finance
Services
With turnover at about 33%, this fund makes fewer trades than comparable funds.
Expenses
As competition heats up in the mutual fund market, costs become increasingly important. Compared to its otherwise identical counterpart, a low-cost product will be an outperformer, all other things being equal. Thus, taking a closer look at cost-related metrics is vital for investors. In terms of fees, ARGFX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.98% compared to the category average of 1.09%. So, ARGFX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.
Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $1,000; each subsequent investment needs to be at least $100.
Bottom Line
Overall, Ariel Fund Investor ( ARGFX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, worse downside risk, and lower fees, Ariel Fund Investor ( ARGFX ) 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 ARGFX to its peers as well 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 Ariel Fund Investor (ARGFX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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 Ariel Fund Investor (ARGFX - Free Report) . ARGFX possesses 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
Ariel is responsible for ARGFX, and the company is based out of Chicago, IL. Ariel Fund Investor made its debut in November of 1986, and since then, ARGFX has accumulated about $1.28 billion in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund is currently managed by a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. ARGFX has a 5-year annualized total return of 5.76% and it sits 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 8.06%, 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 ARGFX over the past three years is 28.55% compared to the category average of 20.92%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 25.41% compared to the category average of 18.36%. 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. ARGFX has a 5-year beta of 1.26, which means it is likely to be more 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 -5.92. 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 largely on equities that are traded in the United States.
This fund is currently holding about 77.88% stock in stocks, with an average market capitalization of $7.58 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
- Non-Durable
- Finance
- Services
With turnover at about 33%, this fund makes fewer trades than comparable funds.Expenses
As competition heats up in the mutual fund market, costs become increasingly important. Compared to its otherwise identical counterpart, a low-cost product will be an outperformer, all other things being equal. Thus, taking a closer look at cost-related metrics is vital for investors. In terms of fees, ARGFX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.98% compared to the category average of 1.09%. So, ARGFX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.
Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $1,000; each subsequent investment needs to be at least $100.
Bottom Line
Overall, Ariel Fund Investor ( ARGFX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, worse downside risk, and lower fees, Ariel Fund Investor ( ARGFX ) 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 ARGFX to its peers as well 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.