Is victory NASDAQ-100 Index (USNQX) a strong mutual fund pick right now?

Are you on the hunt for a Index fund? You should think about starting with Victory NASDAQ-100 Index (USNQX Quick QuoteUSNQX – Free Report) . USNQX has no Zacks Mutual Fund Rank, but we have been able to look into other metrics like performance, volatility, and cost.

History of fund/manager

Victory is based in Columbus, OH, and is the manager of USNQX. Since Victory NASDAQ-100 Index made its debut in October of 2000, USNQX has garnered more than $6.50 billion in assets. The fund is currently managed by Mannik Dhillon who has been in charge of the fund since July of 2019.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 14.81%, and it sits in the top third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 32.66%, which places it in the top 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. Compared to the category average of 12.26%, the standard deviation of USNQX over the past three years is 15.64%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund’s standard deviation is 19.22% compared to the category average of 13.91%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk factors

Investors should note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 1.17, so it is likely going to be more volatile than the market at large. Because alpha represents a portfolio’s performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which is the S&P 500 in this case, one should pay attention to this metric as well. The fund has produced a negative alpha over the past 5 years of -0.88, which shows that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

Expenses

As competition heats up in the mutual fund market, costs become increasingly important. Compared to its otherwise identical counterpart, a low-cost product will be an outperformer, all other things being equal. Thus, taking a closer look at cost-related metrics is vital for investors. In terms of fees, USNQX is a no load fund and it has an expense ratio of 0.42%.

Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $3,000 and that each subsequent investment needs to be at $50.

Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into consideration. Returns would be less if those were included.

Bottom line

Want even more information about USNQX? 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. Zacks provides a full suite of tools to help you analyze your portfolio – both funds and stocks – in the most efficient way possible.