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Is Firsthand Technology Opportunities (TEFQX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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If you've been stuck searching for Sector - Tech funds, you might want to consider passing on by Firsthand Technology Opportunities (TEFQX - Free Report) as a possibility. TEFQX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 4 (Sell), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
The world of Sector - Tech funds is an area filled with options, and TEFQX is one of them. Sector - Tech mutual funds allow investors to own a stake in a notoriously volatile sector with a much more diversified approach. Tech companies can be in any number of industries such as semiconductors, software, internet, networking just to name a few.
History of Fund/Manager
Firsthand is based in San Jose, CA, and is the manager of TEFQX. The Firsthand Technology Opportunities made its debut in September of 1999 and TEFQX has managed to accumulate roughly $80 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. Kevin M. Landis is the fund's current manager and has held that role since September of 1999.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. TEFQX has a 5-year annualized total return of -1.34% and is 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 -28.2%, 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. Over the past three years, TEFQX's standard deviation comes in at 34.95%, compared to the category average of 25.65%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 34.13% compared to the category average of 25.67%. 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 1.27, which means 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. TEFQX has generated a negative alpha over the past five years of -14.76, demonstrating 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, TEFQX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.85% compared to the category average of 1.23%. From a cost perspective, TEFQX 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 needs to be at $50
Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Bottom Line
Overall, Firsthand Technology Opportunities ( TEFQX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, worse downside risk, and higher fees, this fund looks like a somewhat weak choice for investors right now.
For additional information on this product, or to compare it to other mutual funds in the Sector - Tech, make sure to go to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for additional information. If you want to check out our stock reports as well, make sure to go to Zacks.com to see all of the great tools we have to offer, including our time-tested Zacks Rank.
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Is Firsthand Technology Opportunities (TEFQX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
If you've been stuck searching for Sector - Tech funds, you might want to consider passing on by Firsthand Technology Opportunities (TEFQX - Free Report) as a possibility. TEFQX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 4 (Sell), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
The world of Sector - Tech funds is an area filled with options, and TEFQX is one of them. Sector - Tech mutual funds allow investors to own a stake in a notoriously volatile sector with a much more diversified approach. Tech companies can be in any number of industries such as semiconductors, software, internet, networking just to name a few.
History of Fund/Manager
Firsthand is based in San Jose, CA, and is the manager of TEFQX. The Firsthand Technology Opportunities made its debut in September of 1999 and TEFQX has managed to accumulate roughly $80 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. Kevin M. Landis is the fund's current manager and has held that role since September of 1999.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. TEFQX has a 5-year annualized total return of -1.34% and is 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 -28.2%, 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. Over the past three years, TEFQX's standard deviation comes in at 34.95%, compared to the category average of 25.65%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 34.13% compared to the category average of 25.67%. 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 1.27, which means 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. TEFQX has generated a negative alpha over the past five years of -14.76, demonstrating 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, TEFQX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.85% compared to the category average of 1.23%. From a cost perspective, TEFQX 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 needs to be at $50
Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Bottom Line
Overall, Firsthand Technology Opportunities ( TEFQX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, worse downside risk, and higher fees, this fund looks like a somewhat weak choice for investors right now.
For additional information on this product, or to compare it to other mutual funds in the Sector - Tech, make sure to go to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for additional information. If you want to check out our stock reports as well, make sure to go to Zacks.com to see all of the great tools we have to offer, including our time-tested Zacks Rank.