Is Value Line Income & Growth Investor (VALIX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

There are plenty of choices in the Allocation Balanced category, but where should you start your research? Well, one fund that might be worth investigating is Value Line Income & Growth Investor (VALIX). VALIX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.ObjectiveThe world of Zacks' Allocation Balanced funds is an area filled with options, such as VALIX. These funds like to invest in a variety of asset types, finding a balance between stocks, bonds, cash, and sometimes even precious metals and commodities; they are mostly categorized by their respective asset allocation. For investors, Allocation Balanced funds can provide an entry point into diversified mutual funds, and present core holding options for a portfolio of funds.History of Fund/ManagerVALIX finds itself in the Value Line family, based out of New York, NY. Value Line Income & Growth Investor made its debut in October of 1952, and since then, VALIX has accumulated about $425.33 million in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund's current manager is a team of investment professionals.PerformanceObviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. VALIX has a 5-year annualized total return of 10.66%, and it sits in the middle third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 25.56%, 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. VALIX's standard deviation over the past three years is 16.22% compared to the category average of 12.93%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 17.5% compared to the category average of 13.37%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.Risk FactorsWith a 5-year beta of 1.01, the fund is likely to be as volatile as the market average. 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. VALIX has generated a negative alpha over the past five years of -4.87, demonstrating that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.ExpensesAs competition heats up in the mutual fund market, costs become increasingly important. Compared to its otherwise identical counterpart, a low-cost product will be an outperformer, all other things being equal. Thus, taking a closer look at cost-related metrics is vital for investors. In terms of fees, VALIX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.08% compared to the category average of 0.91%. VALIX is actually more expensive than its peers when you consider factors like cost.Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $1,000 and that each subsequent investment has no minimum amount.Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into consideration. Returns would be less if those were included.Bottom LineOverall, even with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and higher fees, Value Line Income & Growth Investor ( VALIX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and therefore looks a good potential choice for investors right now.This could just be the start of your research on VALIX in the Allocation Balanced category. Consider going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for additional information about this fund, and all the others that we rank as well for additional information. Zacks provides a full suite of tools to help you analyze your portfolio - both funds and stocks - in the most efficient way possible.Zacks Names #1 Semiconductor StockThis under-the-radar company specializes in semiconductor products that titans like NVIDIA don't build. It's uniquely positioned to take advantage of the next growth stage of this market. And it's just beginning to enter the spotlight, which is exactly where you want to be.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 $971 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 (VALIX): 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