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Is Matthew 25 Fund (MXXVX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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Mid Cap Blend fund seekers may want to consider taking a look at Matthew 25 Fund (MXXVX - Free Report) . MXXVX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
The world of Zacks Mid Cap Blend mutual funds is an area filled with options, such as MXXVX. Mid Cap Blend funds expose investors to value picks, income opportunities, and exciting growth potential, but also gives some stability; these funds usually seek a stock portfolio of various size and style, which allows for diversification when the focus is on companies with market capitalization in the range of $2 billion to $10 billion.
History of Fund/Manager
Matthew 25 is based in Jenkintown, PA, and is the manager of MXXVX. Matthew 25 Fund debuted in October of 1995. Since then, MXXVX has accumulated assets of about $391.28 million, according to the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by Mark Mulholland who has been in charge of the fund since July of 1996.
Performance
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. MXXVX has a 5-year annualized total return of 14.87% and is in the top third among its category peers. If you're interested in shorter time frames, do not dismiss looking at the fund's 3-year annualized total return of 13.36%, which places it in the top third during this time-frame.
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. MXXVX's standard deviation over the past three years is 15.2% compared to the category average of 11.7%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 13.42% compared to the category average of 11.35%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
Investors should always remember the downsides to a potential investment, and this segment carries some risks one should be aware of. In MXXVX's case, the fund lost 56.92% in the most recent bear market and underperformed comparable funds by 5.7%. This makes the fund a possibly worse choice than its peers during a sliding market environment.
Nevertheless, investors should also note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 1.12, 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. MXXVX's 5-year performance has produced a negative alpha of -2.3, which means managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
Expenses
As competition heats up in the mutual fund market, costs become increasingly important. Compared to its otherwise identical counterpart, a low-cost product will be an outperformer, all other things being equal. Thus, taking a closer look at cost-related metrics is vital for investors. In terms of fees, MXXVX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.10% compared to the category average of 1.09%. From a cost perspective, MXXVX is actually more expensive than its peers.
This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $10,000, and each subsequent investment should be at least $100.
Bottom Line
Overall, Matthew 25 Fund has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and higher fees, this fund looks like a somewhat average choice for investors right now.
For additional information on this product, or to compare it to other mutual funds in the Mid Cap Blend, make sure to go to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for additional information. For analysis of the rest of your portfolio, make sure to visit Zacks.com for our full suite of tools which will help you investigate all of your stocks and funds in one place.
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Is Matthew 25 Fund (MXXVX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
Mid Cap Blend fund seekers may want to consider taking a look at Matthew 25 Fund (MXXVX - Free Report) . MXXVX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
The world of Zacks Mid Cap Blend mutual funds is an area filled with options, such as MXXVX. Mid Cap Blend funds expose investors to value picks, income opportunities, and exciting growth potential, but also gives some stability; these funds usually seek a stock portfolio of various size and style, which allows for diversification when the focus is on companies with market capitalization in the range of $2 billion to $10 billion.
History of Fund/Manager
Matthew 25 is based in Jenkintown, PA, and is the manager of MXXVX. Matthew 25 Fund debuted in October of 1995. Since then, MXXVX has accumulated assets of about $391.28 million, according to the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by Mark Mulholland who has been in charge of the fund since July of 1996.
Performance
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. MXXVX has a 5-year annualized total return of 14.87% and is in the top third among its category peers. If you're interested in shorter time frames, do not dismiss looking at the fund's 3-year annualized total return of 13.36%, which places it in the top third during this time-frame.
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. MXXVX's standard deviation over the past three years is 15.2% compared to the category average of 11.7%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 13.42% compared to the category average of 11.35%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
Investors should always remember the downsides to a potential investment, and this segment carries some risks one should be aware of. In MXXVX's case, the fund lost 56.92% in the most recent bear market and underperformed comparable funds by 5.7%. This makes the fund a possibly worse choice than its peers during a sliding market environment.
Nevertheless, investors should also note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 1.12, 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. MXXVX's 5-year performance has produced a negative alpha of -2.3, which means managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
Expenses
As competition heats up in the mutual fund market, costs become increasingly important. Compared to its otherwise identical counterpart, a low-cost product will be an outperformer, all other things being equal. Thus, taking a closer look at cost-related metrics is vital for investors. In terms of fees, MXXVX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.10% compared to the category average of 1.09%. From a cost perspective, MXXVX is actually more expensive than its peers.
This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $10,000, and each subsequent investment should be at least $100.
Bottom Line
Overall, Matthew 25 Fund has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and higher fees, this fund looks like a somewhat average choice for investors right now.
For additional information on this product, or to compare it to other mutual funds in the Mid Cap Blend, make sure to go to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for additional information. For analysis of the rest of your portfolio, make sure to visit Zacks.com for our full suite of tools which will help you investigate all of your stocks and funds in one place.