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Is American Funds Investor Company of America A (AIVSX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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Any investors hoping to find a Mutual Fund Equity Report fund could think about starting with American Funds Investor Company of America A (AIVSX - Free Report) . AIVSX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
History of Fund/Manager
American Funds is based in Los Angeles, CA, and is the manager of AIVSX. The American Funds Investor Company of America A made its debut in December of 1933 and AIVSX has managed to accumulate roughly $65.05 billion in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 8.97%, 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 13.23%, 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. Over the past three years, AIVSX's standard deviation comes in at 16.62%, compared to the category average of 15.52%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 17.14% compared to the category average of 15.36%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
With a 5-year beta of 0.9, the fund is likely to be less 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. AIVSX's 5-year performance has produced a negative alpha of -1.44, which means managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
Holdings
Investigating 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 mostly on equities that are traded in the United States.
This fund is currently holding about 92.33% stock in stocks, which have an average market capitalization of $261.58 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
Technology
Finance
Industrial Cyclical
Non-Durable
Other
With turnover at about 31%, this fund makes fewer trades than its comparable peers.
Expenses
Costs are increasingly important for mutual fund investing, and particularly as competition heats up in this market. And all things being equal, a lower cost product will outperform its otherwise identical counterpart, so taking a closer look at these metrics is key for investors. In terms of fees, AIVSX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.57% compared to the category average of 0.91%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, AIVSX is actually cheaper than its peers.
Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $250; each subsequent investment needs to be at least $50.
Bottom Line
Overall, American Funds Investor Company of America A ( AIVSX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a great potential choice for investors right now.
Want even more information about AIVSX? 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. 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 American Funds Investor Company of America A (AIVSX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
Any investors hoping to find a Mutual Fund Equity Report fund could think about starting with American Funds Investor Company of America A (AIVSX - Free Report) . AIVSX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
History of Fund/Manager
American Funds is based in Los Angeles, CA, and is the manager of AIVSX. The American Funds Investor Company of America A made its debut in December of 1933 and AIVSX has managed to accumulate roughly $65.05 billion in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 8.97%, 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 13.23%, 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. Over the past three years, AIVSX's standard deviation comes in at 16.62%, compared to the category average of 15.52%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 17.14% compared to the category average of 15.36%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
With a 5-year beta of 0.9, the fund is likely to be less 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. AIVSX's 5-year performance has produced a negative alpha of -1.44, which means managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
Holdings
Investigating 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 mostly on equities that are traded in the United States.
This fund is currently holding about 92.33% stock in stocks, which have an average market capitalization of $261.58 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
- Technology
- Finance
- Industrial Cyclical
- Non-Durable
- Other
With turnover at about 31%, this fund makes fewer trades than its comparable peers.Expenses
Costs are increasingly important for mutual fund investing, and particularly as competition heats up in this market. And all things being equal, a lower cost product will outperform its otherwise identical counterpart, so taking a closer look at these metrics is key for investors. In terms of fees, AIVSX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.57% compared to the category average of 0.91%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, AIVSX is actually cheaper than its peers.
Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $250; each subsequent investment needs to be at least $50.
Bottom Line
Overall, American Funds Investor Company of America A ( AIVSX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a great potential choice for investors right now.
Want even more information about AIVSX? 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. 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.