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Is Baron Asset Fund Retail (BARAX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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If you're looking for a Mid Cap Growth fund category, then a potential option is Baron Asset Fund Retail (BARAX - Free Report) . BARAX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
BARAX is part of the Mid Cap Growth section, a segment that boasts a wide array of possible selections. While Mid Cap Growth mutual funds choose companies with a stock market valuation between $2 billion and $10 billion, stocks in these funds are also expected to show broad considerable growth opportunities for investors compared to their peers. To be considered a growth stock, companies must consistently report impressive sales and/or earnings growth.
History of Fund/Manager
Baron is based in New York, NY, and is the manager of BARAX. The Baron Asset Fund Retail made its debut in June of 1987 and BARAX has managed to accumulate roughly $2.04 billion in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund's current manager, Andrew Peck, has been in charge of the fund since July of 2003.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 11.04%, 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 12.96%, 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, BARAX's standard deviation comes in at 12.17%, compared to the category average of 10.39%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 12.11% compared to the category average of 10.43%. 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. BARAX lost 53.5% in the most recent bear market and underperformed comparable funds by 2.15%. This might suggest that the fund is a worse choice than its peers during a bear market.
Nevertheless, with a 5-year beta of 1.07, the fund is likely to be more volatile than the market average. Alpha is an additional metric to take into consideration, since it represents a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which in this case, is the S&P 500. With a negative alpha of -0.76, 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, BARAX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.30% compared to the category average of 1.21%. From a cost perspective, BARAX is actually more expensive than its peers.
This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $2,000, while there is no minimum for each subsequent investment.
Bottom Line
Overall, Baron Asset Fund Retail ( BARAX ) 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.
Don't stop here for your research on Mid Cap Growth funds. We also have plenty more on our site in order to help you find the best possible fund for your portfolio. Make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for more information about the world of funds, and feel free to compare BARAX to its peers 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 Baron Asset Fund Retail (BARAX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
If you're looking for a Mid Cap Growth fund category, then a potential option is Baron Asset Fund Retail (BARAX - Free Report) . BARAX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
BARAX is part of the Mid Cap Growth section, a segment that boasts a wide array of possible selections. While Mid Cap Growth mutual funds choose companies with a stock market valuation between $2 billion and $10 billion, stocks in these funds are also expected to show broad considerable growth opportunities for investors compared to their peers. To be considered a growth stock, companies must consistently report impressive sales and/or earnings growth.
History of Fund/Manager
Baron is based in New York, NY, and is the manager of BARAX. The Baron Asset Fund Retail made its debut in June of 1987 and BARAX has managed to accumulate roughly $2.04 billion in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund's current manager, Andrew Peck, has been in charge of the fund since July of 2003.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 11.04%, 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 12.96%, 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, BARAX's standard deviation comes in at 12.17%, compared to the category average of 10.39%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 12.11% compared to the category average of 10.43%. 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. BARAX lost 53.5% in the most recent bear market and underperformed comparable funds by 2.15%. This might suggest that the fund is a worse choice than its peers during a bear market.
Nevertheless, with a 5-year beta of 1.07, the fund is likely to be more volatile than the market average. Alpha is an additional metric to take into consideration, since it represents a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which in this case, is the S&P 500. With a negative alpha of -0.76, 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, BARAX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.30% compared to the category average of 1.21%. From a cost perspective, BARAX is actually more expensive than its peers.
This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $2,000, while there is no minimum for each subsequent investment.
Bottom Line
Overall, Baron Asset Fund Retail ( BARAX ) 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.
Don't stop here for your research on Mid Cap Growth funds. We also have plenty more on our site in order to help you find the best possible fund for your portfolio. Make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for more information about the world of funds, and feel free to compare BARAX to its peers 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.