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Is Gabelli Utilities AAA (GABUX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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Sector - Utilities fund seekers may want to consider taking a look at Gabelli Utilities AAA (GABUX - Free Report) . GABUX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
GABUX is classified in the Sector - Utilities segment by Zacks, an area full of potential. Sector - Utilities mutual funds focus on companies that provide essential servicessuch as electric power, gas distribution, and water supplyto millions of people on a daily basis. Overall, the utility industry is known for its stability and reduced volatility.
History of Fund/Manager
GABUX is a part of the Gabelli Funds family of funds, a company based out of Rye, NY. Since Gabelli Utilities AAA made its debut in January of 2002, GABUX has garnered more than $321.62 million in assets. Mario J. Gabelli is the fund's current manager and has held that role since January of 2002.
Performance
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 4.49%, 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 7.63%, 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, GABUX's standard deviation comes in at 9.6%, compared to the category average of 8.91%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 9.61% compared to the category average of 9.14%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
Investors cannot discount the risks to this segment though, as it is always important to remember the downside for any potential investment. In the most recent bear market, GABUX lost 33.47% and outperformed its peer group by 9.89%. This means that the fund could possibly be a better choice than its peers during a down market environment.
Nevertheless, with a 5-year beta of 0.54, the fund is likely to be less volatile than the market average. 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. With a negative alpha of -0.2, 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, GABUX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.38% compared to the category average of 1.21%. From a cost perspective, GABUX is actually more expensive than its peers.
While the minimum initial investment for the product is $1,000, investors should also note that there is no minimum for each subsequent investment.
Bottom Line
Overall, Gabelli Utilities AAA ( GABUX ) 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.
Want even more information about GABUX? 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. Zacks provides a full suite of tools to help you analyze your portfolio - both funds and stocks - in the most efficient way possible.
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Is Gabelli Utilities AAA (GABUX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
Sector - Utilities fund seekers may want to consider taking a look at Gabelli Utilities AAA (GABUX - Free Report) . GABUX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
GABUX is classified in the Sector - Utilities segment by Zacks, an area full of potential. Sector - Utilities mutual funds focus on companies that provide essential servicessuch as electric power, gas distribution, and water supplyto millions of people on a daily basis. Overall, the utility industry is known for its stability and reduced volatility.
History of Fund/Manager
GABUX is a part of the Gabelli Funds family of funds, a company based out of Rye, NY. Since Gabelli Utilities AAA made its debut in January of 2002, GABUX has garnered more than $321.62 million in assets. Mario J. Gabelli is the fund's current manager and has held that role since January of 2002.
Performance
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 4.49%, 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 7.63%, 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, GABUX's standard deviation comes in at 9.6%, compared to the category average of 8.91%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 9.61% compared to the category average of 9.14%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
Investors cannot discount the risks to this segment though, as it is always important to remember the downside for any potential investment. In the most recent bear market, GABUX lost 33.47% and outperformed its peer group by 9.89%. This means that the fund could possibly be a better choice than its peers during a down market environment.
Nevertheless, with a 5-year beta of 0.54, the fund is likely to be less volatile than the market average. 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. With a negative alpha of -0.2, 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, GABUX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.38% compared to the category average of 1.21%. From a cost perspective, GABUX is actually more expensive than its peers.
While the minimum initial investment for the product is $1,000, investors should also note that there is no minimum for each subsequent investment.
Bottom Line
Overall, Gabelli Utilities AAA ( GABUX ) 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.
Want even more information about GABUX? 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. Zacks provides a full suite of tools to help you analyze your portfolio - both funds and stocks - in the most efficient way possible.