If you have been looking for Mutual Fund Equity Report funds, a place to start could be BlackRock Exchange BlackRock (STSEX). STSEX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
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History of Fund/Manager
BlackRock is based in New York, NY, and is the manager of STSEX. Since BlackRock Exchange BlackRock made its debut in May of 1986, STSEX has garnered more than $205.60 million in assets. The fund’s current manager is a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 12.02%, and it sits in the top 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 12.82%, 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, STSEX’s standard deviation comes in at 18.28%, compared to the category average of 20.95%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 16.6% compared to the category average of 18.64%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
With a 5-year beta of 0.85, the fund is likely to be less volatile than the market average. 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. STSEX has generated a positive alpha over the past five years of 2.26, demonstrating that managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
Holdings
Exploring 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 largely on equities that are traded in the United States.
Right now, 92.81% of this mutual fund’s holdings are stocks, with an average market capitalization of $778.25 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
- Technology
- Finance
- Health
This fund’s turnover is about 0%, so the fund managers are making fewer trades than the average comparable fund.
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, STSEX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.62% compared to the category average of 0.99%. So, STSEX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.
Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $0 and that each subsequent investment has no minimum amount.
Bottom Line
Overall, BlackRock Exchange BlackRock ( STSEX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
Don’t stop here for your research on Mutual Fund Equity Report 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 STSEX 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.