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Is Kinetics Small Cap Opportunity No Load (KSCOX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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If you have been looking for Global - Equity funds, a place to start could be Kinetics Small Cap Opportunity No Load (KSCOX - Free Report) . KSCOX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

Zacks categorizes KSCOX as Global - Equity, which is a segment packed with options. Global - Equity mutual funds invest in large markets like the U.S., Europe, and Japan, and operate with very few geographical limitations. They also provide an investment technique that leverages the diverse nature of the global economy in the hopes of providing a stable return.

History of Fund/Manager

Kinetics is based in Sleepy Hollow, NY, and is the manager of KSCOX. Kinetics Small Cap Opportunity No Load debuted in February of 2003. Since then, KSCOX has accumulated assets of about $244.28 million, according to the most recently available information. The fund's current manager is a team of investment professionals.

Performance

Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 12.76%, and it sits 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 18.41%, 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. Compared to the category average of 9.3%, the standard deviation of KSCOX over the past three years is 13.23%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 13.7% compared to the category average of 9.06%. 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. KSCOX lost 67.05% in the most recent bear market and outperformed its peer group by 14.61%. This makes the fund a possibly better choice than its peers during a sliding market environment.

Nevertheless, investors should also note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 1, which means it is hypothetically as volatile as the market at large. Another factor to consider is alpha, as it reflects a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark-in this case, the S&P 500. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a positive alpha of 0.1. This means that managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking 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, KSCOX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.64% compared to the category average of 1.19%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, KSCOX is actually more expensive than its peers.

While the minimum initial investment for the product is $2,500, investors should also note that there is no minimum for each subsequent investment.

Bottom Line

Overall, Kinetics Small Cap Opportunity No Load has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and higher fees, Kinetics Small Cap Opportunity No Load looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.

Your research on the Global - Equity segment doesn't have to stop here. You can check out all the great mutual fund tools we have to offer by going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds to see the additional features we offer as well 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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