Have you been searching for a Sector - Health fund? You might want to begin with ProFunds Biotech Ultra Sector Investor (BIPIX Quick QuoteBIPIX - Free Report) . While this fund is not tracked by the Zacks Mutual Fund Rank, we were able to examine other factors like performance, volatility, and cost.

Objective

Zacks categorizes BIPIX as Sector - Health, a segment packed with options. Sector - Health mutual funds offer investors a focus on the healthcare industry, one of the largest sectors in the American economy. These funds can include everything from pharmaceutical companies to medical device manufacturers and for-profit hospitals.

History of Fund/Manager

ProFunds is based in Columbus, OH, and is the manager of BIPIX. ProFunds Biotech Ultra Sector Investor made its debut in June of 2000, and since then, BIPIX has accumulated about $103.20 million in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund is currently managed by Michael Neches who has been in charge of the fund since October of 2013.

Performance

Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. BIPIX has a 5-year annualized total return of 14.47% and it sits 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 1.21%, which places it in the middle 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. BIPIX's standard deviation over the past three years is 35.8% compared to the category average of 0%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 32.46% compared to the category average of 46%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

Investors should note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 1.2, so it is likely going to be more volatile than the market at large. 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. BIPIX has generated a positive alpha over the past five years of 0.28, demonstrating that managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

Expenses

For investors, taking a closer look at cost-related metrics is key, since costs are increasingly important for mutual fund investing. Competition is heating up in this space, and a lower cost product will likely outperform its otherwise identical counterpart, all things being equal. In terms of fees, BIPIX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.55% compared to the category average of 63%. From a cost perspective, BIPIX is actually cheaper than its peers.

While the minimum initial investment for the product is $15,000, 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

For additional information on the Sector - Health area of the mutual fund world, make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds. There, you can see more about the ranking process, and dive even deeper into BIPIX too 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.