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Is T. Rowe Price New Era (PRNEX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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If you're looking for a Sector - Energy fund category, then a potential option is T. Rowe Price New Era (PRNEX - Free Report) . PRNEX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
PRNEX is one of many Sector - Energy funds to choose from. Sector - Energy mutual funds are comprised of various changing and hugely important industries throughout the massive global energy sector. Even though clean energy is beginning to pick up steam, oil and gas companies have the highest exposure, but carbon-based fuels will be the biggest group of assets in these funds.
History of Fund/Manager
PRNEX is a part of the T. Rowe Price family of funds, a company based out of Baltimore, MD. T. Rowe Price New Era made its debut in January of 1969, and since then, PRNEX has accumulated about $2.41 billion in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund's current manager, Shawn T. Driscoll, has been in charge of the fund since September of 2013.
Performance
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. PRNEX has a 5-year annualized total return of 2.82% and is in the top 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 9.77%, 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. Over the past three years, PRNEX's standard deviation comes in at 14.03%, compared to the category average of 15.16%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 14.59% compared to the category average of 14.23%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
One cannot ignore the volatility of this segment, however, as it is always important for investors to remember the downside to any potential investment. In the most recent bear market, PRNEX lost 54.94% and underperformed its peer group by 0.27%. These results could imply that the fund is a worse choice than its peers during a sliding market environment.
Investors should note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 0.92, so it is likely going to be less volatile than 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. PRNEX has generated a negative alpha over the past five years of -8.74, 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, PRNEX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.70% compared to the category average of 1.48%. PRNEX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.
While the minimum initial investment for the product is $2,500, investors should also note that each subsequent investment needs to be at least $100.
Bottom Line
Overall, T. Rowe Price New Era ( PRNEX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, T. Rowe Price New Era ( PRNEX ) looks like a somewhat average choice for investors right now.
Your research on the Sector - Energy 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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Is T. Rowe Price New Era (PRNEX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
If you're looking for a Sector - Energy fund category, then a potential option is T. Rowe Price New Era (PRNEX - Free Report) . PRNEX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
PRNEX is one of many Sector - Energy funds to choose from. Sector - Energy mutual funds are comprised of various changing and hugely important industries throughout the massive global energy sector. Even though clean energy is beginning to pick up steam, oil and gas companies have the highest exposure, but carbon-based fuels will be the biggest group of assets in these funds.
History of Fund/Manager
PRNEX is a part of the T. Rowe Price family of funds, a company based out of Baltimore, MD. T. Rowe Price New Era made its debut in January of 1969, and since then, PRNEX has accumulated about $2.41 billion in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund's current manager, Shawn T. Driscoll, has been in charge of the fund since September of 2013.
Performance
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. PRNEX has a 5-year annualized total return of 2.82% and is in the top 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 9.77%, 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. Over the past three years, PRNEX's standard deviation comes in at 14.03%, compared to the category average of 15.16%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 14.59% compared to the category average of 14.23%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
One cannot ignore the volatility of this segment, however, as it is always important for investors to remember the downside to any potential investment. In the most recent bear market, PRNEX lost 54.94% and underperformed its peer group by 0.27%. These results could imply that the fund is a worse choice than its peers during a sliding market environment.
Investors should note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 0.92, so it is likely going to be less volatile than 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. PRNEX has generated a negative alpha over the past five years of -8.74, 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, PRNEX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.70% compared to the category average of 1.48%. PRNEX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.
While the minimum initial investment for the product is $2,500, investors should also note that each subsequent investment needs to be at least $100.
Bottom Line
Overall, T. Rowe Price New Era ( PRNEX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, T. Rowe Price New Era ( PRNEX ) looks like a somewhat average choice for investors right now.
Your research on the Sector - Energy 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.