Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Is Marsico 21ST Century Fund (MXXIX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

Read MoreHide Full Article

Having trouble finding a Mutual Fund Equity Report fund? Well, Marsico 21ST Century Fund (MXXIX - Free Report) would not be a good potential starting point right now. MXXIX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 4 (Sell), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

History of Fund/Manager

MXXIX is a part of the Marsico family of funds, a company based out of Denver, CO. The Marsico 21ST Century Fund made its debut in February of 2000 and MXXIX has managed to accumulate roughly $212.64 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by Thomas F. Marsico who has been in charge of the fund since June of 2022.

Performance

Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 7.95%, and is 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 3.5%, 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 MXXIX over the past three years is 25.81% compared to the category average of 25.28%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 22.16% compared to the category average of 22.4%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

With a 5-year beta of 1.06, the fund is likely to be more volatile than the market average. Because alpha represents a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which is the S&P 500 in this case, one should pay attention to this metric as well. MXXIX has generated a negative alpha over the past five years of -1.23, demonstrating that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

Holdings

Examining 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 principally on equities that are traded in the United States.

The mutual fund currently has 94.3% of its holdings in stocks, which have an average market capitalization of $30.47 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:

  1. Technology
  2. Other
With turnover at about 55%, this fund is making fewer trades than the average comparable fund.

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, MXXIX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.34% compared to the category average of 1.14%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, MXXIX is actually more expensive than its peers.

While the minimum initial investment for the product is $2,500, investors should also note that each subsequent investment needs to be at least $100.

Bottom Line

Overall, Marsico 21ST Century Fund ( MXXIX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and higher fees, Marsico 21ST Century Fund ( MXXIX ) looks like a poor potential choice for investors right now.

Want even more information about MXXIX? 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. 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.


See More Zacks Research for These Tickers


Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:


Marsico MidCap Growth Focus (MXXIX) - free report >>

Published in