If you're looking for a Sector - Tech fund category, then a potential option is USAA Science & Technology Fund (USSCX Quick QuoteUSSCX - Free Report) . USSCX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), 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 USSCX 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

USSCX finds itself in the Victory family, based out of Columbus, OH. The USAA Science & Technology Fund made its debut in August of 1997 and USSCX has managed to accumulate roughly $1.14 billion in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by a team of investment professionals.

Performance

Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 9.23%, and is in the bottom third among its category peers. But if you are looking for a shorter time frame, it is also worth looking at its 3-year annualized total return of -7.55%, 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. Over the past three years, USSCX's standard deviation comes in at 23.77%, compared to the category average of 19.83%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 24.61% compared to the category average of 20.25%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

With a 5-year beta of 1.15, the fund is likely to be more volatile than the market average. Alpha is an additional metric to take into consideration, since it represents a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which in this case, is the S&P 500. USSCX's 5-year performance has produced a negative alpha of -5.54, 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 largely on equities that are traded in the United States.

Right now, 85.18% of this mutual fund's holdings are stocks, with an average market capitalization of $377.25 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:

• Technology
• Health

Turnover is about 56%, so those in charge of the fund make fewer trades than the average comparable fund.

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, USSCX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.99% compared to the category average of 1.10%. So, USSCX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.

This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $3,000, and each subsequent investment should be at least $50.

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, average downside risk, and lower fees, USAA Science & Technology Fund ( USSCX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and therefore looks a somewhat average choice for investors right now.

This could just be the start of your research on USSCXin the Sector - Tech 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. For analysis of the rest of your portfolio, make sure to visit Zacks.com for our full suite of tools which will help you investigate all of your stocks and funds in one place.