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Is Gabelli Utilities AAA (GABUX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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If you've been stuck searching for Sector - Utilities funds, you might want to consider passing on by Gabelli Utilities AAA (GABUX - Free Report) as a possibility. GABUX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 5 (Strong Sell), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
GABUX is classified in the Sector - Utilities segment by Zacks, an area full of potential. Sector - Utilities mutual funds focus on companies that provide essential services such as electric power, gas distribution, and water supply to millions of people on a daily basis. Overall, the utility industry is known for its stability and reduced volatility.
History of Fund/Manager
Gabelli Funds is based in Rye, NY, and is the manager of GABUX. Gabelli Utilities AAA debuted in January of 2002. Since then, GABUX has accumulated assets of about $263.17 million, according to the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 6.68%, and is 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 11.71%, 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 GABUX over the past three years is 13.11% compared to the category average of 11.75%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 14.57% compared to the category average of 13.4%. 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. GABUX has a 5-year beta of 0.59, which means it is likely to be less 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. GABUX's 5-year performance has produced a negative alpha of -2.34, which means 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, GABUX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.38% compared to the category average of 0.95%. So, GABUX is actually more expensive than its peers from a cost perspective.
Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $1,000; each subsequent investment has no minimum amount.
Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into consideration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Bottom Line
Overall, Gabelli Utilities AAA ( GABUX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, average downside risk, and higher fees, this fund looks like a somewhat weak choice for investors right now.
This could just be the start of your research on GABUX in the Sector - Utilities category. Consider going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for additional information about this fund, and all the others that we rank as well 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.
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Is Gabelli Utilities AAA (GABUX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
If you've been stuck searching for Sector - Utilities funds, you might want to consider passing on by Gabelli Utilities AAA (GABUX - Free Report) as a possibility. GABUX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 5 (Strong Sell), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
GABUX is classified in the Sector - Utilities segment by Zacks, an area full of potential. Sector - Utilities mutual funds focus on companies that provide essential services such as electric power, gas distribution, and water supply to millions of people on a daily basis. Overall, the utility industry is known for its stability and reduced volatility.
History of Fund/Manager
Gabelli Funds is based in Rye, NY, and is the manager of GABUX. Gabelli Utilities AAA debuted in January of 2002. Since then, GABUX has accumulated assets of about $263.17 million, according to the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 6.68%, and is 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 11.71%, 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 GABUX over the past three years is 13.11% compared to the category average of 11.75%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 14.57% compared to the category average of 13.4%. 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. GABUX has a 5-year beta of 0.59, which means it is likely to be less 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. GABUX's 5-year performance has produced a negative alpha of -2.34, which means 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, GABUX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.38% compared to the category average of 0.95%. So, GABUX is actually more expensive than its peers from a cost perspective.
Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $1,000; each subsequent investment has no minimum amount.
Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into consideration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Bottom Line
Overall, Gabelli Utilities AAA ( GABUX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, average downside risk, and higher fees, this fund looks like a somewhat weak choice for investors right now.
This could just be the start of your research on GABUX in the Sector - Utilities category. Consider going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for additional information about this fund, and all the others that we rank as well 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.