Is Akre Focus Retail (AKREX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

On the lookout for a Mutual Fund Equity Report fund? Starting with Akre Focus Retail (AKREX) should not be a possibility at this time. AKREX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 4 (Sell), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

History of Fund/Manager

Akre is responsible for AKREX, and the company is based out of Middleburg, VA. Akre Focus Retail debuted in August of 2009. Since then, AKREX has accumulated assets of about $15.4 billion, according to the most recently available information. The fund is co-managed by John Neff and Chris Cerrone.

Performance

Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. AKREX has a 5-year annualized total return of 17.84% and it sits in the middle 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 15.28%, which places it in the bottom 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. Compared to the category average of 16.11%, the standard deviation of AKREX over the past three years is 17.76%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 15.58% compared to the category average of 14.4%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

The fund has a 5-year beta of 0.87, so investors should note that it is hypothetically less volatile than the market at large. Another factor to consider is alpha, as it reflects a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark-in this case, the S&P 500. AKREX has generated a positive alpha over the past five years of 4.2, demonstrating 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, AKREX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.30% compared to the category average of 0.99%. AKREX is actually more expensive than its peers when you consider factors like cost.

Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $2,000 and that each subsequent investment needs to be at $250.

Bottom Line

Overall, Akre Focus Retail ( AKREX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and higher fees, Akre Focus Retail ( AKREX ) looks like a poor potential choice for investors right now.

This could just be the start of your research on AKREXin the Mutual Fund Equity Report 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 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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