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Is DoubleLine Shiller Enhanced CAPE N (DSENX) 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 DoubleLine Shiller Enhanced CAPE N (DSENX - Free Report) . DSENX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 5 (Strong Sell), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

History of Fund/Manager

DSENX finds itself in the Double Line family, based out of Los Angeles, CA. Since DoubleLine Shiller Enhanced CAPE N made its debut in October of 2013, DSENX has garnered more than $295.93 million in assets. The fund is currently managed by Jeffrey Sherman who has been in charge of the fund since October of 2013.

Performance

Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 6.9%, and it sits in the bottom third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 7.04%, which places it in the bottom third during this time-frame.

It is important to note that the product's returns may not reflect all its expenses. Any fees not reflected would lower the returns. Total returns do not reflect the fund's [%] sale charge. If sales charges were included, total returns would have been lower.

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 15.44%, the standard deviation of DSENX over the past three years is 21.1%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 22.68% compared to the category average of 16.53%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

Investors should not forget about beta, an important way to measure a mutual fund's risk compared to the market as a whole. DSENX has a 5-year beta of 1.15, which means it is likely to be more 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. DSENX's 5-year performance has produced a negative alpha of -3.32, which means 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, DSENX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.80% compared to the category average of 0.91%. So, DSENX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.

This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $2,000, and each subsequent investment should be at least $100.

Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.

Bottom Line

Overall, DoubleLine Shiller Enhanced CAPE N ( DSENX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, worse downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a somewhat weak choice for investors right now.

This could just be the start of your research on DSENXin the Mutual Fund Equity Report category. Consider going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for additional information about this fund, and all the others that we rank as well 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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