Any investors who are searching for Mutual Fund Equity Report funds should take a look at USAA NASDAQ-100 Index Fund (USNQX). While this fund is not tracked by the Zacks Mutual Fund Rank, we were able to examine other factors like performance, volatility, and cost.
History of Fund/Manager
Victory is based in Columbus, OH, and is the manager of USNQX. Since USAA NASDAQ-100 Index Fund made its debut in October of 2000, USNQX has garnered more than $3.80 billion in assets. The fund is currently managed by Mannik Dhillon who has been in charge of the fund since July of 2019.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 15.94%, and it sits 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 14.66%, 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. USNQX’s standard deviation over the past three years is 23.45% compared to the category average of 20.57%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 22.28% compared to the category average of 18.14%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
Investors should note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 1.11, 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. The fund has produced a positive alpha over the past 5 years of 4.09, which shows that managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking 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, USNQX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.44% compared to the category average of 0.79%. So, USNQX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.
While the minimum initial investment for the product is $3,000, investors should also note that each subsequent investment needs to be at least $50.
Bottom Line
Your research on the Mutual Fund Equity Report segment doesn’t have to stop here. You can check out all the great mutual fund tools we have to offer by going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds to see the additional features we offer as well 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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