If your financial advisor made you buy any of these "Mutual Fund Misfires of the Market" with high expenses and low returns, you need to reassess your advisor.
How can you tell a good mutual fund from a bad one? It's pretty basic: If the fund has high fees and performs poorly, it's not good. Of course, there's a range - but when a mutual fund earns a Zacks Rank of #5 (Strong Sell) that means it's among the worst of roughly 19,000 funds we rate each day.
Below, you'll read about some of the funds included in our current list of "Mutual Fund Misfires of the Market." And if by chance you're invested in any of these misfires, we'll help and review some of our highest Zacks Ranked mutual funds.
3 Mutual Fund Misfires
Now, let's take a look at three market misfires.
Hussman Strategic Growth Fund (HSGFX): Expense ratio: 1.14%. Management fee: 0.9%. After expenses, the 5 year return is -8.83%, meaning your fees are far higher than the fund's returns.
Rydex Energy Services Investor (RYVIX): RYVIX is a Sector - Energy mutual fund, which encompasses a wide range of vastly changing and vitally important industries throughout this massive global sector. RYVIX offers an expense ratio of 1.46% and annual returns of -24.83% over the last five years. Even if this fund can be positioned as a hedge during the recent bull-market, paying more in fees than returns over the long-term should never be an acceptable result.
James Small Cap A (JASCX): Expense ratio: 1.5%. Management fee: 1.24%. JASCX is a Small Cap Value fund, and these funds are known for investing in companies with market caps under $2 billion. With annual returns of just 1.28%, it's no surprise this fund has received Zacks' "Strong Sell" ranking.
3 Top Ranked Mutual Funds
Now that we've covered our "worst offender" list, let's take a look at some of Zacks' highest ranked mutual funds with some of the lowest fees you may want to consider.
Oppenheimer Discovery R (ODINX) is a winner, with an expense ratio of just 1.33% and a five-year annualized return track record of 12.03%.
Hartford Stock HLS IA (HSTAX) has an expense ratio of 0.52% and management fee of 0.48%. HSTAX is part of the Large Cap Blend section, and these mutual funds most often invest in firms with a market capitalization of $10 billion or more. By investing in bigger companies, these funds offer more stability, and are often well-suited for investors with a "buy and hold" mindset. With annual returns of 11.79% over the last five years, this is a well-diversified fund with a long track record of success.
Davis Real Estate Y (DREYX) has an expense ratio of 0.73% and management fee of 0.55%. DREYX is categorized as a Sector - Real Estate mutual fund, which typically invests in various real estate investment trusts (REIT) due to their taxation rules. With yearly returns of 10.78% over the last five years, this fund is well-diversified with a long reputation of salutary performance.
Bottom Line
We hope that your investment advisor (if you use one) has you invested in one or all of the top-ranked mutual funds we've reviewed. But if that is not the case, and your advisor has you invested in any of the funds on our "worst offender" list, it might be time to have a conversation or reconsider this vitally important relationship.
Do You Know the Top 9 Retirement Investing Mistakes?
Whether you're planning to retire early or not, don't let investing mistakes derail your plans.
If you have $500,000 or more to invest and want to learn more, click the link to download our free report, 9 Retirement Mistakes that will Ruin Your Retirement.
This report will help you steer clear of the most common mistakes, like trying to time the market, lack of diversification in your portfolio, and many more. Get Your FREE Guide Now
Get Your Free (DREYX): Fund Analysis Report
Get Your Free (JASCX): Fund Analysis Report
Get Your Free (RYVIX): Fund Analysis Report
Get Your Free (HSGFX): Fund Analysis Report
Get Your Free (HSTAX): Fund Analysis Report
Get Your Free (ODINX): Fund Analysis Report
Original post
Zacks Investment Research