Is Franklin Gold & Precious Metals A (FKRCX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
Sector - Precious Metal fund seekers should consider taking a look at Franklin Gold & Precious Metals A (FKRCX). FKRCX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.ObjectiveThe world of Sector - Precious Metal funds is an area filled with options, such as FKRCX. Usually, Sector - Precious Metal mutual funds invest in stocks with a focus on the mining and production of precious metals like gold, silver, platinum, and palladium. Here, stocks often trade as leveraged bets of the underlying commodity, meaning they're tied to the metal's prices and can be volatile.History of Fund/ManagerFKRCX is a part of the Franklin family of funds, a company based out of San Mateo, CA. The Franklin Gold & Precious Metals A made its debut in May of 1969 and FKRCX has managed to accumulate roughly $652.75 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by Steve Land who has been in charge of the fund since April of 1999.PerformanceOf course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 4.88%, and is 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 -2.82%, 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 FKRCX over the past three years is 31.8% compared to the category average of 18.27%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 35.84% compared to the category average of 20.13%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.Risk FactorsThe fund has a 5-year beta of 1.18, so investors should note that it is hypothetically more volatile than the market at large. Alpha is an additional metric to take into consideration, since it represents a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which in this case, is the S&P 500. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a negative alpha of -6.53. This means that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.ExpensesFor 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, FKRCX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.92% compared to the category average of 1.09%. From a cost perspective, FKRCX is actually cheaper than its peers.Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $1,000; each subsequent investment has no minimum amount.Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.Bottom LineOverall, Franklin Gold & Precious Metals A ( FKRCX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, worse downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.Your research on the Sector - Precious Metal 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. And don't forget, Zacks has all of your needs covered on the equity side too! Make sure to check out Zacks.com for more information on our screening capabilities, Rank, and all our articles as well.Zacks' Research Chief Names "Stock Most Likely to Double"Our team of experts has just released the 5 stocks with the greatest probability of gaining +100% or more in the coming months. Of those 5, Director of Research Sheraz Mian highlights the one stock set to climb highest.This top pick is among the most innovative financial firms. With a fast-growing customer base (already 50+ million) and a diverse set of cutting edge solutions, this stock is poised for big gains. Of course, all our elite picks aren’t winners but this one could far surpass earlier Zacks’ Stocks Set to Double like Nano-X Imaging which shot up +129.6% in little more than 9 months.Free: See Our Top Stock And 4 Runners UpWant the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Get Your Free (FKRCX): Fund Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks
Quelle: Zacks
