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Mutual Fund Equity Report fund seekers should not consider taking a look at Franklin Mutual Quest Z (MQIFX) at this time. MQIFX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 5 (Strong Sell), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
History of Fund/Manager
MQIFX is a part of the Franklin family of funds, a company based out of San Mateo, CA. The Franklin Mutual Quest Z made its debut in September of 1980 and MQIFX has managed to accumulate roughly $2.11 billion in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by Keith Luh who has been in charge of the fund since December of 2010.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. MQIFX has a 5-year annualized total return of 2.13% and it sits in the bottom 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 4.4%, which places it in the middle 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. MQIFX's standard deviation over the past three years is 16.94% compared to the category average of 16.95%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 14.72% compared to the category average of 14.7%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
The fund has a 5-year beta of 0.67, so investors should note that it is hypothetically less 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. MQIFX's 5-year performance has produced a negative alpha of -4.54, which means managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
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, MQIFX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.81% compared to the category average of 1.08%. MQIFX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.
This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $1,000, while there is no minimum for each subsequent investment.