Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Is Franklin DynaTech Advisor (FDYZX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

Read MoreHide Full Article

Having trouble finding a Mutual Fund Equity Report fund? Franklin DynaTech Advisor (FDYZX - Free Report) is a potential starting point. FDYZX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

History of Fund/Manager

FDYZX finds itself in the Franklin family, based out of San Mateo, CA. The Franklin DynaTech Advisor made its debut in November of 2010 and FDYZX has managed to accumulate roughly $2.70 billion in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund's current manager, Rupert H. Johnson Jr.Has been in charge of the fund since November of 2010.

Performance

Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 13.23%, and is in the middle third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of -0.55%, 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. The standard deviation of FDYZX over the past three years is 24.98% compared to the category average of 15.85%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 24.15% compared to the category average of 16.42%. 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 1.1, so it is likely going to be more volatile than the market at large. 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. The fund has produced a positive alpha over the past 5 years of 0.59, which shows that managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking 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, FDYZX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.61% compared to the category average of 0.96%. So, FDYZX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.

While the minimum initial investment for the product is $0, investors should also note that there is no minimum for each subsequent investment.

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

Bottom Line

Overall, Franklin DynaTech Advisor ( FDYZX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, worse downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a great potential choice for investors right now.

Your research on the Mutual Fund Equity Report segment doesn't have to stop here. You can check out all the great mutual fund tools we have to offer by going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds to see the additional features we offer as well for additional information. And don't forget, Zacks has all of your needs covered on the equity side too! Make sure to check out Zacks.com for more information on our screening capabilities, Rank, and all our articles as well.


See More Zacks Research for These Tickers


Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:


Franklin DynaTech Adv (FDYZX) - free report >>

Published in