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Is Macquarie Science & Technology Y (WSTYX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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If you're looking for a Sector - Tech fund category, then a potential option is Macquarie Science & Technology Y (WSTYX - Free Report) . WSTYX has 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 WSTYX 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
Macquarie is based in Philadelphia, PA, and is the manager of WSTYX. Macquarie Science & Technology Y debuted in June of 1998. Since then, WSTYX has accumulated assets of about $311.10 million, according to the most recently available information. Bradley Warden is the fund's current manager and has held that role since October of 2016.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. WSTYX has a 5-year annualized total return of 16.82%, and it sits in the middle 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 29.07%, 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. WSTYX's standard deviation over the past three years is 22.62% compared to the category average of 15.57%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 22.3% compared to the category average of 15.19%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
With a 5-year beta of 1.24, 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. With a negative alpha of -2.07, managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
Holdings
Examining 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.
This fund is currently holding about 89.24% in stocks, which have an average market capitalization of $469.60 billion.
With turnover at about 45%, this fund makes fewer trades than the average comparable fund.
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, WSTYX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.18% compared to the category average of 1.00%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, WSTYX is actually more expensive than its peers.
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 consideration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Bottom Line
Overall, even with its comparatively similar performance, worse downside risk, and higher fees, Macquarie Science & Technology Y ( WSTYX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and therefore looks a somewhat average choice for investors right now.
Your research on the Sector - Tech 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. 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 Macquarie Science & Technology Y (WSTYX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
If you're looking for a Sector - Tech fund category, then a potential option is Macquarie Science & Technology Y (WSTYX - Free Report) . WSTYX has 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 WSTYX 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
Macquarie is based in Philadelphia, PA, and is the manager of WSTYX. Macquarie Science & Technology Y debuted in June of 1998. Since then, WSTYX has accumulated assets of about $311.10 million, according to the most recently available information. Bradley Warden is the fund's current manager and has held that role since October of 2016.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. WSTYX has a 5-year annualized total return of 16.82%, and it sits in the middle 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 29.07%, 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. WSTYX's standard deviation over the past three years is 22.62% compared to the category average of 15.57%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 22.3% compared to the category average of 15.19%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
With a 5-year beta of 1.24, 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. With a negative alpha of -2.07, managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
Holdings
Examining 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.
This fund is currently holding about 89.24% in stocks, which have an average market capitalization of $469.60 billion.
With turnover at about 45%, this fund makes fewer trades than the average comparable fund.
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, WSTYX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.18% compared to the category average of 1.00%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, WSTYX is actually more expensive than its peers.
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 consideration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Bottom Line
Overall, even with its comparatively similar performance, worse downside risk, and higher fees, Macquarie Science & Technology Y ( WSTYX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and therefore looks a somewhat average choice for investors right now.
Your research on the Sector - Tech 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. 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.