Is Cohen & Steers Realty Shares L (CSRSX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

There are plenty of choices in the Sector - Real Estate category, but where should you start your research? Well, one fund that might be worth investigating is Cohen & Steers Realty Shares L (CSRSX). CSRSX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.ObjectiveCSRSX is one of many Sector - Real Estate funds to choose from. Sector - Real Estate mutual funds are known to invest in real estate investment trusts (REITs). A popular income vehicle thanks to its taxation rules, a REIT is required to pay out at least 90% of its income annually to avoid double taxation. This technique makes securities in these funds high dividend players, and even bond-like in some instances, though their risk is similar to equities.History of Fund/ManagerCohen & Steers is responsible for CSRSX, and the company is based out of New York, NY. Cohen & Steers Realty Shares L debuted in July of 1991. Since then, CSRSX has accumulated assets of about $5.18 billion, according to the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by a team of investment professionals.PerformanceOf course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 8.4%, and is in the top third among its category peers. If you're interested in shorter time frames, do not dismiss looking at the fund's 3-year annualized total return of 4.97%, 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. CSRSX's standard deviation over the past three years is 19.71% compared to the category average of 14.9%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 18.82% compared to the category average of 14.33%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.Risk FactorsInvestors should note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 0.95, which means it is hypothetically less 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. With a negative alpha of -6.13, managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.ExpensesCosts 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, CSRSX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.88% compared to the category average of 0.97%. CSRSX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.While the minimum initial investment for the product is $10,000, investors should also note that there is no minimum for each subsequent investment.Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into consideration. Returns would be less if those were included.Bottom LineOverall, Cohen & Steers Realty Shares L ( CSRSX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Cohen & Steers Realty Shares L ( CSRSX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.Your research on the Sector - Real Estate segment doesn't have to stop here. You can check out all the great mutual fund tools we have to offer by going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds to see the additional features we offer as well for additional information. And don't forget, Zacks has all of your needs covered on the equity side too! Make sure to check out Zacks.com for more information on our screening capabilities, Rank, and all our articles as well.#1 Semiconductor Stock to Buy (Not NVDA)The incredible demand for data is fueling the market's next digital gold rush. 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