Is T. Rowe Price Real Estate (TRREX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

If you've been stuck searching for Sector - Real Estate funds, consider T. Rowe Price Real Estate (TRREX) as a possibility. TRREX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.ObjectiveWe classify TRREX in the Sector - Real Estate category, an area full of possible choices. Sector - Real Estate mutual funds typically invest in various real estate investment trusts (REIT). A REIT is a popular income vehicle thanks to taxation rules that require REITs to payout at least 90% of their income each year in order to avoid double taxation. This technique makes securities here high dividend payers, and almost bond like in some cases; however, they still carry the risk of equities.History of Fund/ManagerTRREX is a part of the T. Rowe Price family of funds, a company based out of Baltimore, MD. The T. Rowe Price Real Estate made its debut in February of 1998 and TRREX has managed to accumulate roughly $473 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. Gregg Korondi is the fund's current manager and has held that role since January of 2024.PerformanceInvestors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 9.84%, and is in the bottom 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 -2.73%, which places it in the bottom 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. The standard deviation of TRREX over the past three years is 20.44% compared to the category average of 16.31%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 19.54% compared to the category average of 17.14%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.Risk FactorsWith a 5-year beta of 0.95, the fund is likely to be less volatile than the market average. Alpha is an additional metric to take into consideration, since it represents a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which in this case, is the S&P 500. The fund has produced a negative alpha over the past 5 years of -6.29, which shows that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.ExpensesFor investors, taking a closer look at cost-related metrics is key, since costs are increasingly important for mutual fund investing. Competition is heating up in this space, and a lower cost product will likely outperform its otherwise identical counterpart, all things being equal. In terms of fees, TRREX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.87% compared to the category average of 0.99%. From a cost perspective, TRREX is actually cheaper than its peers.Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $2,500; each subsequent investment needs to be at least $100.Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.Bottom LineOverall, T. Rowe Price Real Estate ( TRREX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a great potential choice for investors right now.For additional information on this product, or to compare it to other mutual funds in the Sector - Real Estate, 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.Zacks Names #1 Semiconductor StockIt's only 1/9,000th the size of NVIDIA which skyrocketed more than +800% since we recommended it. NVIDIA is still strong, but our new top chip stock has much more room to boom.With strong earnings growth and an expanding customer base, it's positioned to feed the rampant demand for Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Internet of Things. Global semiconductor manufacturing is projected to explode from $452 billion in 2021 to $803 billion by 2028.See This Stock Now for Free >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Get Your Free (TRREX): Fund Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks