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

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If investors are looking at the Mutual Fund Equity Report fund category, make sure to pass over ProFunds UltraChina Investor (UGPIX - Free Report) . UGPIX holds 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

UGPIX finds itself in the ProFunds family, based out of Columbus, OH. ProFunds UltraChina Investor made its debut in February of 2008, and since then, UGPIX has accumulated about $15.35 million in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund is currently managed by Scott Hanson who has been in charge of the fund since August of 2016.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of -29.06%, and it sits in the bottom third among its category peers. If you're interested in shorter time frames, do not dismiss looking at the fund's 3-year annualized total return of -31.98%, 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 UGPIX over the past three years is 81.27% compared to the category average of 29.87%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 68.87% compared to the category average of 26.41%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

With a 5-year beta of 1.15, the fund 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. The fund has produced a negative alpha over the past 5 years of -21.39, which shows that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

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, UGPIX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.74% compared to the category average of 1.52%. So, UGPIX is actually more expensive than its peers from a cost perspective.

This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $15,000, while 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.

Your research on the Mutual Fund Equity Report segment doesn't have to stop here. You can check out all the great mutual fund tools we have to offer by going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds to see the additional features we offer as well for additional information. Want to learn even more? We have a full suite of tools on stocks that you can use to find the best choices for your portfolio too, no matter what kind of investor you are.


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