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Is PRIMECAP Odyssey Stock Fund (POSKX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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If you have been looking for Mutual Fund Equity Report fund category, a potential starting could be PRIMECAP Odyssey Stock Fund (POSKX - Free Report) . POSKX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

History of Fund/Manager

Primecap Odyssey is based in Pasadena, CA, and is the manager of POSKX. PRIMECAP Odyssey Stock Fund made its debut in November of 2004, and since then, POSKX has accumulated about $5.89 billion in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund is currently managed by a team of investment professionals.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 7.72%, and is 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 10.26%, which places it in the top 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. POSKX's standard deviation over the past three years is 21.41% compared to the category average of 21.47%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 19.55% compared to the category average of 18.9%. 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 0.99, so it is likely going to be as volatile as the market at large. 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. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a negative alpha of -1.4. This means 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 primarily on equities that are traded in the United States.

The mutual fund currently has 91.7% of its holdings in stocks, which have an average market capitalization of $152.98 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:

  • Technology
  • Health
  • Industrial Cyclical
  • Finance
Turnover is 4%, which means, on average, the fund makes fewer trades than its comparable peers.

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, POSKX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.66% compared to the category average of 0.91%. POSKX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.

Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $2,000 and that each subsequent investment needs to be at $100.

Bottom Line

Overall, PRIMECAP Odyssey Stock Fund ( POSKX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, PRIMECAP Odyssey Stock Fund ( POSKX ) looks like a somewhat average choice for investors right now.

For additional information on the Mutual Fund Equity Report area of the mutual fund world, make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds. There, you can see more about the ranking process, and dive even deeper into POSKX too 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.


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