Is Oppenheimer SteelPath MLP Income A (MLPDX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
There are plenty of choices in the Mutual Fund Equity Report category, but where should you start your research? Well, one fund that you should consider investigating is Oppenheimer SteelPath MLP Income A (MLPDX). MLPDX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
History of Fund/Manager
Invesco is based in Kansas City, MO, and is the manager of MLPDX. Oppenheimer SteelPath MLP Income A made its debut in April of 2010, and since then, MLPDX has accumulated about $1.56 billion in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund is currently managed by Stuart Cartner who has been in charge of the fund since April of 2010.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 6.6%, 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 14.84%, 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. Over the past three years, MLPDX's standard deviation comes in at 54.16%, compared to the category average of 23.26%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 43.74% compared to the category average of 19.87%. 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 1.58, which means it is hypothetically 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. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a negative alpha of -2.05. This means that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
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, MLPDX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.38% compared to the category average of 1.46%. MLPDX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.
While the minimum initial investment for the product is $1,000, investors should also note that each subsequent investment needs to be at least $50.
Bottom Line
Overall, Oppenheimer SteelPath MLP Income A ( MLPDX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, worse downside risk, and lower fees, Oppenheimer SteelPath MLP Income A ( MLPDX ) looks like a somewhat average choice for investors right now.
For additional information on this product, or to compare it to other mutual funds in the Mutual Fund Equity Report, make sure to go to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds 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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