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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 carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 5 (Strong Sell), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
TEFQX is part of the Sector - Tech category, which boasts an array of different possible selections. With a much more diversified approach, Sector - Tech mutual funds give investors a way to own a stake in a notoriously risky sector. Tech companies are in various industries like semiconductors, software, internet, and networking, among others.
History of Fund/Manager
Firsthand is responsible for TEFQX, and the company is based out of San Jose, CA. Firsthand Technology Opportunities made its debut in September of 1999, and since then, TEFQX has accumulated about $41.60 million in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund's current manager, Kevin M. Landis, has been in charge of the fund since September of 1999.
Performance
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. TEFQX has a 5-year annualized total return of -9.9%, and it sits 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 -3.85%, 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. The standard deviation of TEFQX over the past three years is 29.09% compared to the category average of 24.19%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 33.1% compared to the category average of 24.25%. 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 1.34, which means it is hypothetically more volatile than the market at large. Because alpha represents a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which is the S&P 500 in this case, one should pay attention to this metric as well. TEFQX has generated a negative alpha over the past five years of -23.46, demonstrating that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick 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, TEFQX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.85% compared to the category average of 1.26%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, TEFQX is actually more expensive than its peers.
This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $2,000, and each subsequent investment should be at least $50.
Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into consideration. 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 are more of a stock investor, make sure to also check out our Zacks Rank, and our full suite of tools we have available for novice and professional investors alike.
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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 carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 5 (Strong Sell), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
TEFQX is part of the Sector - Tech category, which boasts an array of different possible selections. With a much more diversified approach, Sector - Tech mutual funds give investors a way to own a stake in a notoriously risky sector. Tech companies are in various industries like semiconductors, software, internet, and networking, among others.
History of Fund/Manager
Firsthand is responsible for TEFQX, and the company is based out of San Jose, CA. Firsthand Technology Opportunities made its debut in September of 1999, and since then, TEFQX has accumulated about $41.60 million in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund's current manager, Kevin M. Landis, has been in charge of the fund since September of 1999.
Performance
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. TEFQX has a 5-year annualized total return of -9.9%, and it sits 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 -3.85%, 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. The standard deviation of TEFQX over the past three years is 29.09% compared to the category average of 24.19%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 33.1% compared to the category average of 24.25%. 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 1.34, which means it is hypothetically more volatile than the market at large. Because alpha represents a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which is the S&P 500 in this case, one should pay attention to this metric as well. TEFQX has generated a negative alpha over the past five years of -23.46, demonstrating that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick 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, TEFQX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.85% compared to the category average of 1.26%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, TEFQX is actually more expensive than its peers.
This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $2,000, and each subsequent investment should be at least $50.
Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into consideration. 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 are more of a stock investor, make sure to also check out our Zacks Rank, and our full suite of tools we have available for novice and professional investors alike.