Yahoo Finance Is Victory Sycamore Established Value A (VETAX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
If you've been stuck searching for Mid Cap Value funds, consider Victory Sycamore Established Value A (VETAX) as a possibility. VETAX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
The world of Mid Cap Value funds is an area filled with options, like VETAX. Targeting medium-sized companies with a market cap between $2 billion and $10 billion, Mid Cap Value mutual funds more often than not choose stocks that hold solid value and income investment opportunities.
History of Fund/Manager
Victory is responsible for VETAX, and the company is based out of Columbus, OH. Victory Sycamore Established Value A made its debut in May of 2000, and since then, VETAX has accumulated about $1.52 billion in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. A team of investment professionals is the fund's current manager.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. VETAX has a 5-year annualized total return of 13.21% 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 5.94%, which places it in the top third during this time-frame.
It is important to note that the product's returns may not reflect all its expenses. Any fees not reflected would lower the returns. Total returns do not reflect the fund's [%] sale charge. If sales charges were included, total returns would have been lower.
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 14.99%, the standard deviation of VETAX over the past three years is 17.62%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 20.4% compared to the category average of 16.36%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
The fund has a 5-year beta of 1.01, so investors should note that it is hypothetically as volatile as 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. VETAX's 5-year performance has produced a negative alpha of -1.96, which means 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, VETAX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.91% compared to the category average of 0.96%. From a cost perspective, VETAX is actually cheaper than its peers.
Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $2,500 and that each subsequent investment needs to be at $50
Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Bottom Line
Overall, Victory Sycamore Established Value A ( VETAX ) 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.
This could just be the start of your research on VETAXin the Mid Cap Value 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. If you are more of a stock investor, make sure to also check out our Zacks Rank, and our full suite of tools we have available for novice and professional investors alike.
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