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Is Franklin Natural Resources A (FRNRX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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Sector - Energy fund seekers may want to consider taking a look at Franklin Natural Resources A (FRNRX - Free Report) . FRNRX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
We classify FRNRX in the Sector - Energy category, an area that is rife with possible choices. Throughout the massive global energy sector, Sector - Energy mutual funds hold a wide range of quickly changing and vitally important industries. While oil and gas comprise the bulk of the exposure, carbon-based fuels will be the biggest group of assets in these funds, though clean energy is starting to pick up steam.
History of Fund/Manager
Franklin is based in San Mateo, CA, and is the manager of FRNRX. Since Franklin Natural Resources A made its debut in June of 1995, FRNRX has garnered more than $297.73 million in assets. The fund's current manager is a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 19.32%, and is in the top third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 10.89%, 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. Compared to the category average of 12.67%, the standard deviation of FRNRX over the past three years is 15.97%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 20.68% compared to the category average of 14.53%. 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. FRNRX has a 5-year beta of 0.72, which means it is likely to be less 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. FRNRX's 5-year performance has produced a positive alpha of 8.77, which means 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, FRNRX is a load fund and it has an expense ratio of 0.99%.
This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $1,000, while 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
With a rank of 'hold' we aren't getting a good signal one way or another on FRNRX. That is why it might be a good idea to consider other items, such as the fund's expense ratio of .99%, and how this compares to other potential options being considered for investment. If cheaper, it might make a decent choice, but a more expensive fund might be worth avoiding. Just make sure to pay attention to its rank in case it shifts in the near future.
Want even more information about FRNRX? 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. Zacks provides a full suite of tools to help you analyze your portfolio - both funds and stocks - in the most efficient way possible.
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Is Franklin Natural Resources A (FRNRX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
Sector - Energy fund seekers may want to consider taking a look at Franklin Natural Resources A (FRNRX - Free Report) . FRNRX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
We classify FRNRX in the Sector - Energy category, an area that is rife with possible choices. Throughout the massive global energy sector, Sector - Energy mutual funds hold a wide range of quickly changing and vitally important industries. While oil and gas comprise the bulk of the exposure, carbon-based fuels will be the biggest group of assets in these funds, though clean energy is starting to pick up steam.
History of Fund/Manager
Franklin is based in San Mateo, CA, and is the manager of FRNRX. Since Franklin Natural Resources A made its debut in June of 1995, FRNRX has garnered more than $297.73 million in assets. The fund's current manager is a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 19.32%, and is in the top third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 10.89%, 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. Compared to the category average of 12.67%, the standard deviation of FRNRX over the past three years is 15.97%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 20.68% compared to the category average of 14.53%. 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. FRNRX has a 5-year beta of 0.72, which means it is likely to be less 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. FRNRX's 5-year performance has produced a positive alpha of 8.77, which means 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, FRNRX is a load fund and it has an expense ratio of 0.99%.
This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $1,000, while 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
With a rank of 'hold' we aren't getting a good signal one way or another on FRNRX. That is why it might be a good idea to consider other items, such as the fund's expense ratio of .99%, and how this compares to other potential options being considered for investment. If cheaper, it might make a decent choice, but a more expensive fund might be worth avoiding. Just make sure to pay attention to its rank in case it shifts in the near future.
Want even more information about FRNRX? 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. Zacks provides a full suite of tools to help you analyze your portfolio - both funds and stocks - in the most efficient way possible.