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Is Value Line Income & Growth Investor (VALIX) 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 you should consider investigating is Value Line Income & Growth Investor (VALIX - Free Report) . VALIX holds 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
VALIX is a part of the Value Line family of funds, a company based out of New York, NY. Since Value Line Income & Growth Investor made its debut in October of 1952, VALIX has garnered more than $306.20 million in assets. The fund's current manager, Liane Rosenberg, has been in charge of the fund since May of 2011.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 6.31%, and is in the bottom third among its category peers. But if you are looking for a shorter time frame, it is also worth looking at its 3-year annualized total return of 10.74%, 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 VALIX over the past three years is 21.56% compared to the category average of 18.94%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 20.58% compared to the category average of 16.76%. 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 1.01, 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 -4.16. 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.
Currently, this mutual fund is holding 80.88% stock in stocks, which have an average market capitalization of $150.25 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
Technology
Other
With turnover at about 56%, this fund is making 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, VALIX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.07% compared to the category average of 0.86%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, VALIX is actually more expensive than its peers.
Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $1,000; each subsequent investment has no minimum amount.
Bottom Line
Overall, Value Line Income & Growth Investor ( VALIX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and higher fees, Value Line Income & Growth Investor ( VALIX ) looks like a somewhat average choice for investors right now.
For additional information on this product, or to compare it to other mutual funds in the Mutual Fund Equity Report, make sure to go to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds 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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Is Value Line Income & Growth Investor (VALIX) 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 you should consider investigating is Value Line Income & Growth Investor (VALIX - Free Report) . VALIX holds 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
VALIX is a part of the Value Line family of funds, a company based out of New York, NY. Since Value Line Income & Growth Investor made its debut in October of 1952, VALIX has garnered more than $306.20 million in assets. The fund's current manager, Liane Rosenberg, has been in charge of the fund since May of 2011.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 6.31%, and is in the bottom third among its category peers. But if you are looking for a shorter time frame, it is also worth looking at its 3-year annualized total return of 10.74%, 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 VALIX over the past three years is 21.56% compared to the category average of 18.94%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 20.58% compared to the category average of 16.76%. 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 1.01, 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 -4.16. 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.
Currently, this mutual fund is holding 80.88% stock in stocks, which have an average market capitalization of $150.25 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
- Technology
- Other
With turnover at about 56%, this fund is making 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, VALIX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.07% compared to the category average of 0.86%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, VALIX is actually more expensive than its peers.
Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $1,000; each subsequent investment has no minimum amount.
Bottom Line
Overall, Value Line Income & Growth Investor ( VALIX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and higher fees, Value Line Income & Growth Investor ( VALIX ) looks like a somewhat average choice for investors right now.
For additional information on this product, or to compare it to other mutual funds in the Mutual Fund Equity Report, make sure to go to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds 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.