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Is Kinetics Global Fund No Load (WWWEX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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Any investors hoping to find a Global - Equity fund could think about starting with Kinetics Global Fund No Load (WWWEX - Free Report) . WWWEX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

Zacks categorizes WWWEX 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 WWWEX. Kinetics Global Fund No Load made its debut in February of 2003, and since then, WWWEX has accumulated about $6.64 million in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. Murray Stahl is the fund's current manager and has held that role since February of 2003.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 4.24%, and it sits in the bottom third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 15.97%, 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. WWWEX's standard deviation over the past three years is 16.89% compared to the category average of 11.76%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 16.16% compared to the category average of 12.02%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

Investors should always remember the downsides to a potential investment, and this segment carries some risks one should be aware of. In WWWEX's case, the fund lost 58.46% in the most recent bear market and underperformed comparable funds by 6%. This might suggest that the fund is a worse choice than its peers during a bear market.

Nevertheless, investors should also note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 0.67, which means it is hypothetically less volatile than the market at large. Because alpha represents a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which is the S&P 500 in this case, one should pay attention to this metric as well. The fund has produced a negative alpha over the past 5 years of -2.11, 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, WWWEX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.39% compared to the category average of 1.12%. From a cost perspective, WWWEX is actually more expensive than its peers.

This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $2,500, while there is no minimum for each subsequent investment.

Bottom Line

Overall, Kinetics Global Fund No Load ( WWWEX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, average downside risk, and higher fees, Kinetics Global Fund No Load ( WWWEX ) looks like a somewhat average choice for investors right now.

This could just be the start of your research on WWWEXin the Global - Equity category. Consider going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for additional information about this fund, and all the others that we rank as well 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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