If you've been stuck searching for Sector - Energy funds,what is inkbooks.com consider Oppenheimer SteelPath MLP Income A (MLPDX) as a possibility. MLPDX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
MLPDX is one of many Sector - Energy funds to choose from. Sector - Energy mutual funds are comprised of various changing and hugely important industries throughout the massive global energy sector. Even though clean energy is beginning to pick up steam, oil and gas companies have the highest exposure, but carbon-based fuels will be the biggest group of assets in these funds.
History of Fund/Manager
MLPDX is a part of the Invesco family of funds, a company based out of Kansas City, MO. The Oppenheimer SteelPath MLP Income A made its debut in April of 2010 and MLPDX has managed to accumulate roughly $1.22 billion in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund's current manager, Stuart Cartner, has been in charge of the fund since April of 2010.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of -6.68%, and is 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 -5.16%, 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. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 20.06% compared to the category average of 1.62%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
It's always important to be aware of the downsides to any future investment, so one should not discount the risks that come with this segment.
Investors should not forget about beta, an important way to measure a mutual fund's risk compared to the market as a whole. MLPDX has a 5-year beta of 0.99, which means it is likely to be as volatile as the market average. 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. The fund has produced a negative alpha over the past 5 years of -14.83, which shows that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
Story continues
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, MLPDX is a load fund and it has an expense ratio of 1.39%.
While the minimum initial investment for the product is $1,000, investors should also note that there is no minimum for each subsequent investment.
Bottom Line
This puts this fund from Invesco in the top 20% of all mutual funds we have a rank on right now. As a result, this is likely an excellent choice for investors seeking an option in the Sector - Energy category.
Want even more information about MLPDX? Then go over to Zacks.com and check out our mutual fund comparison tool, and all of the other great features that we have to help you with your mutual fund analysis 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.
Want 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 (MLPDX): Fund Analysis Report
To read this article on Zacks.com click here.
View comments