Any investors hoping to find a Mutual Fund Equity Report fund could think about starting with Franklin Corefolio Allocation A (FTCOX). FTCOX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
History of Fund/Manager
Franklin Templeton is based in San Mateo, CA, and is the manager of FTCOX. The Franklin Corefolio Allocation A made its debut in August of 2003 and FTCOX has managed to accumulate roughly $910.31 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. A team of investment professionals is the fund's current manager.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 13.73%, 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 15.2%, 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. Compared to the category average of 16.07%, the standard deviation of FTCOX over the past three years is 18.29%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 15.21% compared to the category average of 13.17%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
With a 5-year beta of 0.97, the fund is likely to be as volatile as the market average. 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. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a negative alpha of -3.14. This means that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
Holdings
Examining 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 primarily on equities that are traded in the United States.
As of the last filing date, the mutual fund has 83.94% of its assets in stocks and it has a negligible amount of assets in foreign securities. This fund's turnover is about 0%, so the fund managers are making fewer trades than comparable funds.
Expenses
For investors, taking a closer look at cost-related metrics is key, since costs are increasingly important for mutual fund investing. Competition is heating up in this space, and a lower cost product will likely outperform its otherwise identical counterpart, all things being equal. In terms of fees, FTCOX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.40% compared to the category average of 0.89%. So, FTCOX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.
This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $1,000, while there is no minimum for each subsequent investment.
Bottom Line
Overall, Franklin Corefolio Allocation A ( FTCOX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Franklin Corefolio Allocation A ( FTCOX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
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. 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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