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Is ProFunds Industrial UltraSector Investor (IDPIX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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If you have been looking for Large Cap Blend fund category, a potential starting could be ProFunds Industrial UltraSector Investor (IDPIX - Free Report) . IDPIX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

We note that IDPIX is a Large Cap Blend option, an area loaded with different options. More often than not, Large Cap Blend mutual funds invest in companies with a market cap of over $10 billion. Buying stakes in bigger companies offer these funds more stability, and are well-suited for investors with a " buy and hold " mindset. Additionally, blended funds mix large, more established firms into their portfolios, giving investors exposure to value and growth opportunities.

History of Fund/Manager

IDPIX is a part of the ProFunds family of funds, a company based out of Columbus, OH. The ProFunds Industrial UltraSector Investor made its debut in January of 2004 and IDPIX has managed to accumulate roughly $42.35 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by Michael Neches who has been in charge of the fund since October of 2013.

Performance

Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 17.45%, 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 16.08%, 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. IDPIX's standard deviation over the past three years is 18.09% compared to the category average of 10.66%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 17.67% compared to the category average of 10.36%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

It's always important to be aware of the downsides to any future investment, so one should not discount the risks that come with this segment. In IDPIX's case, the fund lost 75.01% in the most recent bear market and underperformed its peer group by 25.3%. This could mean that the fund is a worse choice than comparable funds during a bear market.

Investors should not forget about beta, an important way to measure a mutual fund's risk compared to the market as a whole. IDPIX has a 5-year beta of 1.68, which means it is likely to be more volatile than the market average. 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. IDPIX has generated a negative alpha over the past five years of -3.99, demonstrating that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

Expenses

For investors, taking a closer look at cost-related metrics is key, since costs are increasingly important for mutual fund investing. Competition is heating up in this space, and a lower cost product will likely outperform its otherwise identical counterpart, all things being equal. In terms of fees, IDPIX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.70% compared to the category average of 1.00%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, IDPIX is actually more expensive than its peers.

Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $15,000 and that each subsequent investment has no minimum amount.

Bottom Line

Overall, ProFunds Industrial UltraSector Investor has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, worse 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 Large Cap Blend, make sure to go to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for additional information. Want to learn even more? We have a full suite of tools on stocks that you can use to find the best choices for your portfolio too, no matter what kind of investor you are.


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