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Is Gabelli Utilities AAA (GABUX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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Any investors hoping to find a Sector - Utilities fund might consider looking past Gabelli Utilities AAA (GABUX - Free Report) . GABUX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 5 (Strong Sell), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
GABUX is classified in the Sector - Utilities segment by Zacks, an area full of potential. Sector - Utilities mutual funds focus on companies that provide essential servicessuch as electric power, gas distribution, and water supplyto millions of people on a daily basis. Overall, the utility industry is known for its stability and reduced volatility.
History of Fund/Manager
Gabelli Funds is based in Rye, NY, and is the manager of GABUX. Gabelli Utilities AAA debuted in January of 2002. Since then, GABUX has accumulated assets of about $203.52 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. GABUX has a 5-year annualized total return of 2.51% and it sits in the bottom 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 -0.04%, which places it in the bottom 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. The standard deviation of GABUX over the past three years is 16.33% compared to the category average of 15.26%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 16.1% compared to the category average of 15.93%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
Investors should not forget about beta, an important way to measure a mutual fund's risk compared to the market as a whole. GABUX has a 5-year beta of 0.68, which means it 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. GABUX's 5-year performance has produced a negative alpha of -7.1, which means managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
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, GABUX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.40% compared to the category average of 0.95%. From a cost perspective, GABUX is actually more expensive than its peers.
This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $1,000, while there is no minimum for each subsequent investment.
Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Bottom Line
Overall, Gabelli Utilities AAA ( GABUX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, average downside risk, and higher fees, Gabelli Utilities AAA ( GABUX ) looks like a somewhat weak choice for investors right now.
For additional information on the Sector - Utilities area of the mutual fund world, make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds. There, you can see more about the ranking process, and dive even deeper into GABUX too for additional information. If you want to check out our stock reports as well, make sure to go to Zacks.com to see all of the great tools we have to offer, including our time-tested Zacks Rank.
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Is Gabelli Utilities AAA (GABUX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
Any investors hoping to find a Sector - Utilities fund might consider looking past Gabelli Utilities AAA (GABUX - Free Report) . GABUX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 5 (Strong Sell), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
GABUX is classified in the Sector - Utilities segment by Zacks, an area full of potential. Sector - Utilities mutual funds focus on companies that provide essential servicessuch as electric power, gas distribution, and water supplyto millions of people on a daily basis. Overall, the utility industry is known for its stability and reduced volatility.
History of Fund/Manager
Gabelli Funds is based in Rye, NY, and is the manager of GABUX. Gabelli Utilities AAA debuted in January of 2002. Since then, GABUX has accumulated assets of about $203.52 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. GABUX has a 5-year annualized total return of 2.51% and it sits in the bottom 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 -0.04%, which places it in the bottom 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. The standard deviation of GABUX over the past three years is 16.33% compared to the category average of 15.26%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 16.1% compared to the category average of 15.93%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
Investors should not forget about beta, an important way to measure a mutual fund's risk compared to the market as a whole. GABUX has a 5-year beta of 0.68, which means it 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. GABUX's 5-year performance has produced a negative alpha of -7.1, which means managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
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, GABUX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.40% compared to the category average of 0.95%. From a cost perspective, GABUX is actually more expensive than its peers.
This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $1,000, while there is no minimum for each subsequent investment.
Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Bottom Line
Overall, Gabelli Utilities AAA ( GABUX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, average downside risk, and higher fees, Gabelli Utilities AAA ( GABUX ) looks like a somewhat weak choice for investors right now.
For additional information on the Sector - Utilities area of the mutual fund world, make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds. There, you can see more about the ranking process, and dive even deeper into GABUX too for additional information. If you want to check out our stock reports as well, make sure to go to Zacks.com to see all of the great tools we have to offer, including our time-tested Zacks Rank.