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Is Ivy Science & Technology Y (WSTYX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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Having trouble finding a Sector - Tech fund? Ivy Science & Technology Y (WSTYX - Free Report) is a potential starting point. WSTYX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), 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 WSTYX 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
WSTYX is a part of the Ivy Funds family of funds, a company based out of Boca Raton, FL. The Ivy Science & Technology Y made its debut in June of 1998 and WSTYX has managed to accumulate roughly $442 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by Zachary H. Shafran who has been in charge of the fund since February of 2001.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. WSTYX has a 5-year annualized total return of 12.4% and it sits in the middle third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 22.9%, 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. WSTYX's standard deviation over the past three years is 16.94% compared to the category average of 10.59%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 17.22% compared to the category average of 10.6%. 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. WSTYX lost 35.47% in the most recent bear market and outperformed its peer group by 18%. This means that the fund could possibly be a better choice than its peers during a down market environment.
Investors should note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 1.29, so it is likely going to be more 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. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a negative alpha of -0.92. This means that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
Holdings
Investigating the equity holdings of a mutual fund is also a valuable exercise. This can show us how the manager is applying their stated methodology, as well as if there are any inherent biases in their approach. For this particular fund, the focus is mostly on equities that are traded in the United States.
As of the last filing date, the mutual fund has 93.85% of its assets in stocks, which have an average market capitalization of $227.81 billion. With turnover at about 14%, this fund makes fewer trades than its comparable peers.
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, WSTYX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.20% compared to the category average of 1.39%. WSTYX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.
This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $0, while there is no minimum for each subsequent investment.
Bottom Line
Overall, Ivy Science & Technology Y ( WSTYX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, worse downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
Want even more information about WSTYX? 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. Want to learn even more? We have a full suite of tools on stocks that you can use to find the best choices for your portfolio too, no matter what kind of investor you are.
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Is Ivy Science & Technology Y (WSTYX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
Having trouble finding a Sector - Tech fund? Ivy Science & Technology Y (WSTYX - Free Report) is a potential starting point. WSTYX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), 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 WSTYX 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
WSTYX is a part of the Ivy Funds family of funds, a company based out of Boca Raton, FL. The Ivy Science & Technology Y made its debut in June of 1998 and WSTYX has managed to accumulate roughly $442 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by Zachary H. Shafran who has been in charge of the fund since February of 2001.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. WSTYX has a 5-year annualized total return of 12.4% and it sits in the middle third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 22.9%, 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. WSTYX's standard deviation over the past three years is 16.94% compared to the category average of 10.59%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 17.22% compared to the category average of 10.6%. 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. WSTYX lost 35.47% in the most recent bear market and outperformed its peer group by 18%. This means that the fund could possibly be a better choice than its peers during a down market environment.
Investors should note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 1.29, so it is likely going to be more 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. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a negative alpha of -0.92. This means that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
Holdings
Investigating the equity holdings of a mutual fund is also a valuable exercise. This can show us how the manager is applying their stated methodology, as well as if there are any inherent biases in their approach. For this particular fund, the focus is mostly on equities that are traded in the United States.
As of the last filing date, the mutual fund has 93.85% of its assets in stocks, which have an average market capitalization of $227.81 billion. With turnover at about 14%, this fund makes fewer trades than its comparable peers.
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, WSTYX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.20% compared to the category average of 1.39%. WSTYX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.
This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $0, while there is no minimum for each subsequent investment.
Bottom Line
Overall, Ivy Science & Technology Y ( WSTYX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, worse downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
Want even more information about WSTYX? 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. Want to learn even more? We have a full suite of tools on stocks that you can use to find the best choices for your portfolio too, no matter what kind of investor you are.