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Is Buffalo MidCap Discovery Investor (BUFTX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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If you have been looking for Mid Cap Growth funds, it would not be wise to start your search with Buffalo MidCap Discovery Investor (BUFTX - Free Report) . BUFTX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 5 (Strong Sell), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
We note that BUFTX is a Mid Cap Growth fund, and this area is also loaded with many different options. Companies are usually considered growth stocks when they consistently report notable sales and/or earnings growth. Thus, Mid Cap Growth funds pick stocks--usually companies with a market cap between $2 billion and $10 billion--that demonstrate extensive growth opportunities for investors compared to their peers.
History of Fund/Manager
BUFTX finds itself in the Buffalo Funds family, based out of Shawnee Mission, KS. The Buffalo MidCap Discovery Investor made its debut in April of 2001 and BUFTX has managed to accumulate roughly $295.69 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by Dave Carlsen who has been in charge of the fund since January of 2004.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. BUFTX has a 5-year annualized total return of -0.59%, 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 5.06%, 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 BUFTX over the past three years is 15.99% compared to the category average of 14.05%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 18.7% compared to the category average of 16.17%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
With a 5-year beta of 1.13, 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. BUFTX has generated a negative alpha over the past five years of -13.81, demonstrating that 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, BUFTX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.01% compared to the category average of 0.99%. So, BUFTX is actually more expensive than its peers from a cost perspective.
This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $2,500, 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
Overall, Buffalo MidCap Discovery Investor ( BUFTX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, average downside risk, and higher fees, Buffalo MidCap Discovery Investor ( BUFTX ) looks like a somewhat weak choice for investors right now.
For additional information on the Mid Cap Growth 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 BUFTX too 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 Buffalo MidCap Discovery Investor (BUFTX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
If you have been looking for Mid Cap Growth funds, it would not be wise to start your search with Buffalo MidCap Discovery Investor (BUFTX - Free Report) . BUFTX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 5 (Strong Sell), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
We note that BUFTX is a Mid Cap Growth fund, and this area is also loaded with many different options. Companies are usually considered growth stocks when they consistently report notable sales and/or earnings growth. Thus, Mid Cap Growth funds pick stocks--usually companies with a market cap between $2 billion and $10 billion--that demonstrate extensive growth opportunities for investors compared to their peers.
History of Fund/Manager
BUFTX finds itself in the Buffalo Funds family, based out of Shawnee Mission, KS. The Buffalo MidCap Discovery Investor made its debut in April of 2001 and BUFTX has managed to accumulate roughly $295.69 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by Dave Carlsen who has been in charge of the fund since January of 2004.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. BUFTX has a 5-year annualized total return of -0.59%, 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 5.06%, 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 BUFTX over the past three years is 15.99% compared to the category average of 14.05%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 18.7% compared to the category average of 16.17%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
With a 5-year beta of 1.13, 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. BUFTX has generated a negative alpha over the past five years of -13.81, demonstrating that 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, BUFTX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.01% compared to the category average of 0.99%. So, BUFTX is actually more expensive than its peers from a cost perspective.
This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $2,500, 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
Overall, Buffalo MidCap Discovery Investor ( BUFTX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, average downside risk, and higher fees, Buffalo MidCap Discovery Investor ( BUFTX ) looks like a somewhat weak choice for investors right now.
For additional information on the Mid Cap Growth 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 BUFTX too 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.