If you're looking for a Index fund category, then a possible option is Direxion Monthly NASDAQ-100 Bull 1.75X Investor (DXQLX Quick QuoteDXQLX - Free Report) . DXQLX has no Zacks Mutual Fund Rank, but we have been able to look into other metrics like performance, volatility, and cost.

History of Fund/Manager

Direxion Funds is based in New York, NY, and is the manager of DXQLX. The Direxion Monthly NASDAQ-100 Bull 1.75X Investor made its debut in May of 2006 and DXQLX has managed to accumulate roughly $506.69 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund's current manager, Tony Ng, has been in charge of the fund since May of 2006.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 17.97%, and it sits in the top 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 43.82%, which places it in the top 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. DXQLX's standard deviation over the past three years is 26.09% compared to the category average of 29.44%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 35.59% compared to the category average of 33.92%. 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 2.17, so it is likely going to be 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. With a negative alpha of -4.49, 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 primarily on equities that are traded in the United States.

Right now, 87.39% of this mutual fund's holdings are stocks and it has a negligible amount of assets in foreign securities. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:

• Finance
• Other

Turnover is 12%, which means this fund makes fewer trades than comparable funds.

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, DXQLX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.32% compared to the category average of 1.88%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, DXQLX is actually cheaper than its peers.

While the minimum initial investment for the product is $25,000, investors should also note that each subsequent investment needs to be at least $500.

Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into consideration. Returns would be less if those were included.

Bottom Line

Want even more information about DXQLX? 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. If you want to check out our stock reports as well, make sure to go to Zacks.com to see all of the great tools we have to offer, including our time-tested Zacks Rank.