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Is Columbia Disciplined Core A (AQEAX) 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 Columbia Disciplined Core A (AQEAX - Free Report) . AQEAX 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

Columbia is based in Kansas City, MO, and is the manager of AQEAX. Columbia Disciplined Core A debuted in December of 2004. Since then, AQEAX has accumulated assets of about $3.50 billion, according to the most recently available information. Raghavendran Sivaraman is the fund's current manager and has held that role since December of 2019.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. AQEAX has a 5-year annualized total return of 8.42% and it sits in the middle 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 11.99%, 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. Compared to the category average of 17.68%, the standard deviation of AQEAX over the past three years is 20.77%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 18.81% compared to the category average of 15.63%. 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, which means it is hypothetically as volatile as the market at large. 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 -1.19. 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 principally on equities that are traded in the United States.

As of the last filing date, the mutual fund has 97.7% of its assets in stocks, and these companies have an average market capitalization of $232.58 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:

  • Technology
  • Finance
With turnover at about 48%, this fund is making fewer trades than its comparable peers.

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, AQEAX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.95% compared to the category average of 0.91%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, AQEAX is actually more expensive than its peers.

Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $2,000 and that each subsequent investment has no minimum amount.

Bottom Line

Overall, Columbia Disciplined Core A ( AQEAX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and higher fees, this fund 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 AQEAX to its peers as well for additional information. If you want to check out our stock reports as well, make sure to go to Zacks.com to see all of the great tools we have to offer, including our time-tested Zacks Rank.


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