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Is BlackRock Exchange BlackRock (STSEX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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If you've been stuck searching for Large Cap Growth funds, consider BlackRock Exchange BlackRock (STSEX - Free Report) as a possibility. STSEX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
STSEX is classified in the Large Cap Growth segment by Zacks, an area full of possibilities. Companies are usually considered to be large-cap if their stock market valuation is more than $10 billion. Large Cap Growth mutual funds invest in many large U.S. firms that are projected to grow at a faster rate than their large-cap peers.
History of Fund/Manager
BlackRock is based in New York, NY, and is the manager of STSEX. BlackRock Exchange BlackRock debuted in May of 1986. Since then, STSEX has accumulated assets of about $163.05 million, according to the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by Lawrence G. Kemp who has been in charge of the fund since January of 2013.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 9.04%, and it sits in the bottom 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 8.36%, which places it in the bottom 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. Compared to the category average of 11.91%, the standard deviation of STSEX over the past three years is 9.13%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 9.44% compared to the category average of 11.41%. This makes the fund less 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 the most recent bear market, STSEX lost 45.55% and outperformed its peer group by 3.44%. This might suggest that the fund is a better choice than its peers during a bear market.
Nevertheless, investors should also note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 0.91, which means it is hypothetically less 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 -2.82, managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
Holdings
Investigating 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 principally on equities that are traded in the United States.
The mutual fund currently has 93.6% of its holdings in stocks, which have an average market capitalization of $284.90 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
Finance
Technology
Health
Industrial Cyclical
Turnover is 0%, 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, STSEX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.78% compared to the category average of 1.11%. From a cost perspective, STSEX is actually cheaper than its peers.
While the minimum initial investment for the product is $0, investors should also note that there is no minimum for each subsequent investment.
Bottom Line
Overall, BlackRock Exchange BlackRock has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a great potential choice for investors right now.
Want even more information about STSEX? 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. And don't forget, Zacks has all of your needs covered on the equity side too! Make sure to check out Zacks.com for more information on our screening capabilities, Rank, and all our articles as well.
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Is BlackRock Exchange BlackRock (STSEX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
If you've been stuck searching for Large Cap Growth funds, consider BlackRock Exchange BlackRock (STSEX - Free Report) as a possibility. STSEX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
STSEX is classified in the Large Cap Growth segment by Zacks, an area full of possibilities. Companies are usually considered to be large-cap if their stock market valuation is more than $10 billion. Large Cap Growth mutual funds invest in many large U.S. firms that are projected to grow at a faster rate than their large-cap peers.
History of Fund/Manager
BlackRock is based in New York, NY, and is the manager of STSEX. BlackRock Exchange BlackRock debuted in May of 1986. Since then, STSEX has accumulated assets of about $163.05 million, according to the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by Lawrence G. Kemp who has been in charge of the fund since January of 2013.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 9.04%, and it sits in the bottom 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 8.36%, which places it in the bottom 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. Compared to the category average of 11.91%, the standard deviation of STSEX over the past three years is 9.13%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 9.44% compared to the category average of 11.41%. This makes the fund less 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 the most recent bear market, STSEX lost 45.55% and outperformed its peer group by 3.44%. This might suggest that the fund is a better choice than its peers during a bear market.
Nevertheless, investors should also note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 0.91, which means it is hypothetically less 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 -2.82, managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
Holdings
Investigating 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 principally on equities that are traded in the United States.
The mutual fund currently has 93.6% of its holdings in stocks, which have an average market capitalization of $284.90 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
Turnover is 0%, 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, STSEX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.78% compared to the category average of 1.11%. From a cost perspective, STSEX is actually cheaper than its peers.
While the minimum initial investment for the product is $0, investors should also note that there is no minimum for each subsequent investment.
Bottom Line
Overall, BlackRock Exchange BlackRock has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a great potential choice for investors right now.
Want even more information about STSEX? 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. And don't forget, Zacks has all of your needs covered on the equity side too! Make sure to check out Zacks.com for more information on our screening capabilities, Rank, and all our articles as well.