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Is Baron Asset Fund Retail (BARAX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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Any investors hoping to find a Mid Cap Growth fund might consider looking past Baron Asset Fund Retail (BARAX - Free Report) . BARAX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 5 (Strong Sell), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
Zacks categorizes BARAX as Mid Cap Growth, a segment packed with options. Mid Cap Growth mutual funds aim to target companies with a market capitalization between $2 billion and $10 billion that are also expected to exhibit more extensive growth opportunities for investors than their peers. A firm is typically considered to be a growth stock if it consistently posts impressive sales and/or earnings growth.
History of Fund/Manager
Baron is based in New York, NY, and is the manager of BARAX. Baron Asset Fund Retail made its debut in June of 1987, and since then, BARAX has accumulated about $2.24 billion in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. Andrew Peck is the fund's current manager and has held that role since July of 2003.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 6.73%, and it sits 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 10.41%, 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. The standard deviation of BARAX over the past three years is 18.19% compared to the category average of 16.26%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 18.82% compared to the category average of 16.1%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
Investors should not forget about beta, an important way to measure a mutual fund's risk compared to the market as a whole. BARAX has a 5-year beta of 1.05, which means it is likely to be more volatile than the market average. 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. BARAX's 5-year performance has produced a negative alpha of -8.23, which means managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
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, BARAX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.29% compared to the category average of 0.98%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, BARAX 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, Baron Asset Fund Retail ( BARAX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, average downside risk, and higher fees, this fund looks like a somewhat weak choice for investors right now.
Want even more information about BARAX? Then go over to Zacks.com and check out our mutual fund comparison tool, and all of the other great features that we have to help you with your mutual fund analysis 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.
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Is Baron Asset Fund Retail (BARAX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
Any investors hoping to find a Mid Cap Growth fund might consider looking past Baron Asset Fund Retail (BARAX - Free Report) . BARAX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 5 (Strong Sell), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
Zacks categorizes BARAX as Mid Cap Growth, a segment packed with options. Mid Cap Growth mutual funds aim to target companies with a market capitalization between $2 billion and $10 billion that are also expected to exhibit more extensive growth opportunities for investors than their peers. A firm is typically considered to be a growth stock if it consistently posts impressive sales and/or earnings growth.
History of Fund/Manager
Baron is based in New York, NY, and is the manager of BARAX. Baron Asset Fund Retail made its debut in June of 1987, and since then, BARAX has accumulated about $2.24 billion in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. Andrew Peck is the fund's current manager and has held that role since July of 2003.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 6.73%, and it sits 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 10.41%, 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. The standard deviation of BARAX over the past three years is 18.19% compared to the category average of 16.26%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 18.82% compared to the category average of 16.1%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
Investors should not forget about beta, an important way to measure a mutual fund's risk compared to the market as a whole. BARAX has a 5-year beta of 1.05, which means it is likely to be more volatile than the market average. 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. BARAX's 5-year performance has produced a negative alpha of -8.23, which means managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
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, BARAX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.29% compared to the category average of 0.98%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, BARAX 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, Baron Asset Fund Retail ( BARAX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, average downside risk, and higher fees, this fund looks like a somewhat weak choice for investors right now.
Want even more information about BARAX? Then go over to Zacks.com and check out our mutual fund comparison tool, and all of the other great features that we have to help you with your mutual fund analysis 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.