by C.J. Leleux
In the Mutual Fund SIG, one of the programs we use is the Mutual Fund Expert, which offers our members a way of selecting mutual funds that meet specific criteria. In the program the term filter is used to select the funds meeting the specified criteria selected by the individual member.
As of the April 30, 1998 update, there are 10,679 funds in the database and 55 funds meet the filters listed below.
A set of filters often used in the Mutual Fund Expert program is as follows: IF the 5 year average rate of return is greater than or equal to 20%, AND the maximum front end load is less than or equal to 3%, AND the fund annual expenses are less than or equal to 1.75%, AND there are no 12b-1 fees, AND the initial purchase is less than or equal to $3,000.00, AND the return rating is greater than or equal to B, AND the overall rating is greater than or equal to A, AND the maximum deferred charges (rear end load) is less than or equal to 0.00%, AND the fund is open for investing, AND switching of the fund is allowed.
The 12 month, 3 year average rate of return and the 5 year average rate of return include the actual change of NAV (net asset value) over the period, plus it is assumed that all dividends and capital gains distributions are reinvested at the time they were made. Any miscellaneous distributions and stock splits are also accounted for accurately in these calculations. These long term performance fields are computed with monthly data, ending with the month of the data file being viewed. They are updated monthly.
Return rating field shows the relative quintile ranking of each fund within its investment objective, based only on return, without taking risk into account. “A” = best, “E” = worst. This rating is based on the “3-Year Average Return” field and is updated monthly.
Risk rating (volatility) field shows the relative quintile ranking of each fund within its investment objective, based only on risk, without taking return into account. “A” = least risk, “E” = most risk. This rating is based on the “3-Year Monthly Standard Deviation” field and is updated monthly.
Overall rating (risk-adjusted) field show the relative quintile ranking of each fund within its investment objective, base on both risk and return. “A” = best, “E” = worst. This rating is based on the “3-Year Sharpe” field (a measure of risk-adjusted performance) and is updated monthly.
The program has 359 fields of columns and we have selected 9 of these columns to view. The following is an example of the data we obtain from the Mutual Fund Expert program.
C.J. Leleux is a HAL-PC member and leader of the Mutual Fund, Computer Investing, and Investors Software 101 SIGs.
E-mail me at webmaster@hal-pc.org with any comments you have and tell me what you want to see here.