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Is Calamos Market Neutral Income A (CVSIX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
Mutual Fund Equity Report fund seekers should consider taking a look at Calamos Market Neutral Income A (CVSIX). CVSIX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
History of Fund/Manager
Calamos is based in Naperville, IL, and is the manager of CVSIX. The Calamos Market Neutral Income A made its debut in September of 1990 and CVSIX has managed to accumulate roughly $1.42 billion in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund's current manager is a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 2.39%, and it sits in the middle 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 1.46%, which places it in the bottom 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 three years, CVSIX's standard deviation comes in at 4.07%, compared to the category average of 12.31%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 3.46% compared to the category average of 10.88%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
Investors should note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 0.19, which means it is hypothetically less volatile than the market at large. Another factor to consider is alpha, as it reflects a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark-in this case, the S&P 500. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a negative alpha of -0.7. This means that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
Holdings
Examining the equity holdings of a mutual fund is also a valuable exercise. This can show us how the manager is applying their stated methodology, as well as if there are any inherent biases in their approach. For this particular fund, the focus is largely on equities that are traded in the United States.
The mutual fund currently has 90.46% of its holdings in stocks, which have an average market capitalization of $349.94 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
Technology
Finance
Retail Trade
With turnover at about 44%, this fund makes fewer trades than the average comparable fund.
Expenses
Costs are increasingly important for mutual fund investing, and particularly as competition heats up in this market. And all things being equal, a lower cost product will outperform its otherwise identical counterpart, so taking a closer look at these metrics is key for investors. In terms of fees, CVSIX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.12% compared to the category average of 1.71%. So, CVSIX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.
While the minimum initial investment for the product is $2,500, investors should also note that each subsequent investment needs to be at least $50.
Bottom Line
Overall, Calamos Market Neutral Income A ( CVSIX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, better downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a great potential choice for investors right now.
Want even more information about CVSIX? 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.
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