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Is Baron Fifth Avenue Growth Retail (BFTHX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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Looking for a Mutual Fund Equity Report fund? You may want to consider Baron Fifth Avenue Growth Retail (BFTHX - Free Report) as a possible option. BFTHX bears 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
BFTHX is a part of the Baron family of funds, a company based out of New York, NY. Baron Fifth Avenue Growth Retail made its debut in May of 2004, and since then, BFTHX has accumulated about $86.90 million in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund's current manager, Alex Umansky, has been in charge of the fund since November of 2011.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. BFTHX has a 5-year annualized total return of 8.36% 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 -6.09%, 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 16.7%, the standard deviation of BFTHX over the past three years is 28.51%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 26.33% compared to the category average of 17.2%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
The fund has a 5-year beta of 1.13, so investors should note that it is hypothetically more volatile than the market at large. Another factor to consider is alpha, as it reflects a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark-in this case, the S&P 500. The fund has produced a negative alpha over the past 5 years of -3.61, which shows that 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, BFTHX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1% compared to the category average of 0.96%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, BFTHX 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.
Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Bottom Line
Overall, even with its comparatively weak performance, worse downside risk, and higher fees, Baron Fifth Avenue Growth Retail ( BFTHX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and therefore looks 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. Zacks provides a full suite of tools to help you analyze your portfolio - both funds and stocks - in the most efficient way possible.
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Is Baron Fifth Avenue Growth Retail (BFTHX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
Looking for a Mutual Fund Equity Report fund? You may want to consider Baron Fifth Avenue Growth Retail (BFTHX - Free Report) as a possible option. BFTHX bears 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
BFTHX is a part of the Baron family of funds, a company based out of New York, NY. Baron Fifth Avenue Growth Retail made its debut in May of 2004, and since then, BFTHX has accumulated about $86.90 million in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund's current manager, Alex Umansky, has been in charge of the fund since November of 2011.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. BFTHX has a 5-year annualized total return of 8.36% 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 -6.09%, 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 16.7%, the standard deviation of BFTHX over the past three years is 28.51%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 26.33% compared to the category average of 17.2%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
The fund has a 5-year beta of 1.13, so investors should note that it is hypothetically more volatile than the market at large. Another factor to consider is alpha, as it reflects a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark-in this case, the S&P 500. The fund has produced a negative alpha over the past 5 years of -3.61, which shows that 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, BFTHX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1% compared to the category average of 0.96%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, BFTHX 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.
Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Bottom Line
Overall, even with its comparatively weak performance, worse downside risk, and higher fees, Baron Fifth Avenue Growth Retail ( BFTHX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and therefore looks 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. Zacks provides a full suite of tools to help you analyze your portfolio - both funds and stocks - in the most efficient way possible.