Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Is Kinetics Internet Fund No Load (WWWFX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

Read MoreHide Full Article

If you've been stuck searching for Sector - Tech funds, you might want to consider passing on by Kinetics Internet Fund No Load (WWWFX - Free Report) as a possibility. WWWFX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 5 (Strong Sell), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

The world of Sector - Tech funds is an area filled with options, and WWWFX is one of them. Sector - Tech mutual funds allow investors to own a stake in a notoriously volatile sector with a much more diversified approach. Tech companies can be in any number of industries such as semiconductors, software, internet, networking just to name a few.

History of Fund/Manager

Kinetics is based in Sleepy Hollow, NY, and is the manager of WWWFX. Kinetics Internet Fund No Load debuted in October of 1996. Since then, WWWFX has accumulated assets of about $117.70 million, according to the most recently available information. The fund's current manager is a team of investment professionals.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 7.8%, and is in the middle 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 13.79%, which places it in the middle 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 15.91%, the standard deviation of WWWFX over the past three years is 18.1%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 16.21% compared to the category average of 16.26%. This makes the fund less 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, WWWFX lost 49.64% and outperformed its peer group by 3.69%. This could mean that the fund is a better choice than comparable funds during a bear market.

Nevertheless, with a 5-year beta of 0.83, 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. The fund has produced a negative alpha over the past 5 years of -0.95, which shows that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick 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, WWWFX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.84% compared to the category average of 1.31%. From a cost perspective, WWWFX is actually more expensive than its peers.

Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $2,500; each subsequent investment has no minimum amount.

Bottom Line

Overall, Kinetics Internet Fund No Load ( WWWFX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, similar performance, average downside risk, and higher fees compared to its peers.

Don't stop here for your research on Sector - Tech 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 WWWFX to its peers as well for additional information. For analysis of the rest of your portfolio, make sure to visit Zacks.com for our full suite of tools which will help you investigate all of your stocks and funds in one place.


See More Zacks Research for These Tickers


Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:


Kinetics Internet NL (WWWFX) - free report >>

Published in