By author on August 30, 2010
This fund from T. Rowe Price is a long-term capital growth fund based on small, emerging growth companies. The T. Rowe Price New Horizons Fund is one that we here at Mutual Funds Info have been eying for some time.
Over the past year, as we’ve been doing our mutual fund reviews, we’ve seen this one steadily grow at about a 3.56% rate from July 2009. Like most similar funds, it had huge gains in March of this year and then dropped heavily back to January levels in May. This happened throughout most of the overall economy.
The T Rowe Price New Horizons Fund has shown a 22.09% growth rate (not be confused with gains) for the past year, 10.54% overall since inception, and a five year gain of 1.81%. The fund is roughly equally diversified into the healthcare, consumer service, business service, and industrial materials sectors.
The category has shown only a 0.33% return in 5 years compared to this best mutual funds returns of 1.81%. Its expense ratio is about half of average at 0.85% (vs. 1.62%). It has net assets of about $6 billion and a turnover rate on par with the category at 27%.
It’s new manager, Henry Ellenbogen, has changed some perceptions of this fund, but it appears that the T Rowe Price New Horizons Fund will continue with its current scheme.
Minimum investment to get in is $2,500 (or $1,000 for IRA). This fund holds 93.71% US-based stock.
Posted in T. Rowe Price Mutual Fund Reviews | Tagged best mutual funds, mutual fund reviews, T Rowe Price New Horizons Fund
By author on August 9, 2010
The Royce Value Plus Fund has gained some popularity over time, so we here at Mutual Funds Info wanted to look at it and see how it’s performed and what may be expected in the near future. While the Royce Value Plus mutual fund had some significant gains earlier this year, those have been lost, in the main, but signs of a rebound are present.
Year to date, the Royce Value Plus has gained 1.42%, but it’s high gains in late March were lost throughout May. July showed good upwards growth again, however, and the fund has definitely grown over the past year – showing a 12.49% upward trend since July 2009.
Returns on the Royce Value Plus Fund have been high for the category, which averages only 0.33% vs. Royce’s 2.83% gain on this fund. Expenses are slightly below average and assets are very large ($3 billion) in this fund as well. Turnover rates for the Royce Value Plus mutual fund are about average for the category.
Most of the funds money is diversified into five key sectors: financial services, industrial materials, hardware, consumer service, and business services. Almost 80% of assets are in U.S. stocks with about 4.4% in cash and most of the rest in foreign stocks.
The fund is owned by Royce, of course, and has been managed by W. Whitney George for 9 years. The Royce Value Plus Fund requires a $2,000 minimum investment ($1,000 for IRA).
Over time, this fund has managed to gain, and may continue to do so, given all indications. As always, speak with a trusted financial adviser before making any investment.
Posted in Royce Mutual Fund Reviews | Tagged Royce Value Plus, Royce Value Plus Fund, Royce Value Plus mutual fund
By author on July 19, 2010
Today at Mutual Funds Info, we’re going to have a look at the popular Vanguard Small-Cap Index Fund (NAESX) and show you how it’s performing and how it stacks up to the competition in this market.
Based on an index of the small capitalization stock markets, this fund is relatively passive and bases most of its approach on the MSCI US Small Capo 1750 Index. Most of this Vanguard mutual fund stocks are in the same index.
Over the past year, the best mutual funds have been gaining and the Vanguard Small-Cap Index Fund is no different, being up just over 25%, though it has dropped for the past 3 months and still shows a negative 7.36% over three years. It’s five year gains are 1.35%, however, which is a pretty good sign given that more than 98% of its holdings are in the U.S. stock market.
In mutual fund reviews, we’ve seen that the average for this category is to gain about 0.16% over the past five years while this fund has done well at 1.34%. Expense ratios are also low, being 0.28% (vs. 1.44% avg.) and the Vanguard Small-Cap Index Fund has one of the largest net assets of the category at $17.8 billion (versus $602.4 million avg.).
Turnover is average at 14% and this fund has a lower initial investment benchmark of only $3,000.
Overall, the Vanguard Small-Cap Index Fund has one of the best portfolios we’ve seen so far in this category. Of course, before picking the best mutual funds for you, you should consult a financial adviser and be sure to look over all of the mutual fund reviews you can before making a decision.
Posted in Vanguard Mutual Fund Reviews | Tagged best mutual funds, mutual fund reviews, Vanguard Small-Cap Index Fund
By author on June 25, 2010
The Third Avenue Samll-Cap Value Fund is a once-popular fund who’s losing favor because of poor performance. The TASCX (Third Avenue Small-Cap) is below average in just about every measurement for a fund of this type and is definitely no longer one of the best mutual funds.
It’s a small blend with no sales expenses and a 1.13% expense ratio. Year to date, however, the Third Avenue Small-Cap has dropped 3.24%, though it is up 18.83% over the past year. This fund took a larger than usual pummeling during the 2008-09 recession and has not seen a gain in five years.
Its five year average is -0.42% (most funds are up on the 5 year), it’s 3 year is -1.46% and its 3 year is an abysmal -9.98%. In most of our mutual fund reviews, we’ve found most funds are up on the five year and one year and are usually down by 2-5% for the three year. So the Third Avenue Small-Cap Value Fund is definitely under par.
Much of this is probably due to the large (30%) holdings in foreign stocks that this fund keeps. Many of those are European, which have taken a serious hit due to financial instability in Greece, Germany, Spain, and others. The market category average for small-caps is to be up 2.78% in the five year, but this one is down – despite having a lower expense ratio than average and a very large asset total ($1.1 billion versus $650.7 million small-cap average). Portfolio turnover is, despite all of this, only average at 15%.
Of course, you should always consult with a trusted financial adviser before making any investment decision. Investments into mutual fund reviews on this site are not covered by FDIC.
Posted in Third Avenue Mutual Fund Reviews | Tagged best mutual funds, mutual fund reviews, Third Avenue Small-Cap
By author on June 24, 2010
Here at Mutual Funds Info, we look at a wide variety of funds and try to bring you the best performers and most popular funds for growth. The FPA Perennial Fund (FPPFX), like most funds, took a huge hit in 2008-09 and is recovering. Currently, it’s annual growth average is 28.01% with 3.12% happening in the past three months. It lost 7.8% last month, however, due mainly to failing debt securities.
Its five year average is up, howeer, at +2.70% and it lifetime gains are 11.54%. The expense ratio is 1.07% for thsi mid-cap growth fund.
Most of the assets in the FPA Perennial fund are in U.S. stocks from a variety of industries and market segments. A little over 5% of this mutual fund reviews international stocks.
Amongst the best mutual funds, the FPA Perennial Fund is up 2.70% versus a category-wide average of 3.86% in gains, but its expense ratio is about .4% lower and its risks are on-par with the average. The fund has a low portfolio turnover, but has a valuation at about 1/3 the industry average of $701.5 million, making the FPA Perennial Fund one of the smaller funds in our mutual fund reviews.
This fund has a minimum investment requirement of $1,500. Its manager, Eric S. Ende, has been with the fund for 14 years.
While the FPA Perennial fund might not be the best mutual funds for everyone, it is a compelling one for its size and gains. Consult with a qualified financial adviser before making any investment decision. Investments in the market are not insured by the FDIC.
Posted in FPA Mutual Fund Reviews | Tagged best mutual funds, FPA Perennial Fund, mutual fund reviews