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PKSAX? What do you think?

edited March 2023 in Fund Discussions
MikeW mentioned this fund in another thread. I was going to ask for your opinions on this one, but when I tried entering a "test order" at Schwab it shows open to existing buyers only. Anyway, below is some info from Schwab- it looks to be a pretty good fund.

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Comments

  • edited March 2023
    Pretty sure this fund is closed to new investors: https://virtus.com/products/kar-small-cap-core#shareclass.I/period.quarterly Weird that Schwab would allow that.
  • Yes, Schwab does show at least some listings that are closed/partially open. Sometimes you don't know until you test.
  • edited March 2023
    While this is a well run fund with a high-quality tilt, for better or worse Virtus Kar seems to run a lot of funds with similar styles, management and stock hunting grounds: https://virtus.com/our-products/individual-investors/mutual-funds#/type.daily/relation.nav/asset_sub_class.null/investment_partner.Kayne%20Anderson%20Rudnick%20Investment%20Management,%20LLC
    What that means is you can probably find another fund in their stable that has a similar strategy and reasonably similar results that remains open to new investors. For instance, VKSAX or VMACX are both core funds run by similar or same management teams and open I think to new investors.
  • edited March 2023
    The fund, formerly known as the Phoenix Small-Mid Cap Fund, is closed.

    https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/34273/000114420418029523/tv494384_497.htm

  • edited March 2023
    One thing I've noticed with PKSAX and the other KAR funds is its fairly concentrated, 29 stocks, for a small-cap fund. It owns high quality small-caps so one assumes they are resillient to downturns, but one company blowup here can significantly hurt returns. So few stocks in a small-cap fund would make me nervous, whereas I would feel less so in a blue chip fund where you're investing in big dominant businesses.
  • These are the key attributes that attracted me to PKSAX. It is the only equity fund that I have found that has the combination of Great owl, consistent strong long term performance (3 year -- 15.9%, 5 year -- 13.9%, 10 year -- 14.9%), what I consider to be reasonable Max drawdowns in both March 2020 of 18.3% and 2022 of 17.7%, and managers who have been in place for a long time (since 2008). It has consistently beaten both its index and its category and does so with a non-traditional approach to sector selection. It has heavy concentrations in both industrials and financials which are quite different from its index. I was able to purchase it through the Thrift Savings plan which is the government's retirement program. I wonder if it might also be available in some other 401k programs. You are right its unfortunately not available at Schwab and Fidelity. Lewis is correct in that it is fairly concentrated, but it has managed that risk to date quite well. I would be very interested if anyone has identified any funds with similar attributes. I think they are rare...
  • @MikeW- The Schwab info above shows PKSAX to have a 5.5% Front Load. Is that correct? I ask because I believe that load funds are fairly rare today.
  • edited March 2023
    PKSAX from Virtus Funds, categorized as a mid-cap growth fund:

    https://www.virtus.com/products/kar-small-cap-core#shareclass.A/period.quarterly

    To answer @Old_Joe, there are four share classes: A, C, I and R6. A share class carries a front-end load. That is one of the reasons why I would not buy it unless I can avoid the load.
  • edited March 2023
    @TheShadow- yes, I noticed that apparent disconnect also. Evidently M* has a different definition of "small" and "mid" than Virtus Funds does.

    As was said in the early days of the internet and computer technology- "the nice thing about standards is that there's so many to choose from".

    Add: Thanks for the info on the share classes- hadn't thought about that possibility.
  • edited March 2023
    A shares of lots of funds come load-waived at brokerages. Fidelity has a big stable of them; seems like the LW ones there are mostly from larger fund companies. Don't know about Schwab, but might be worth checking.
  • AndyJ said:

    A shares of lots of funds come load-waived at brokerages. Fidelity has a big stable of them; seems like the LW ones there are mostly from larger fund companies. Don't know about Schwab, but might be worth checking.

    Seems to be no load and no sales change at Schwab.
  • @Old_Joe… I bought VSCRX through my 401K… no load
  • Ditto at Vanguard , closed to new money.
  • This A share fund is listed as “closed to new investors”, at Fidelity and sold with front-load waived. This is more common now especially when savvy investors are buying ETF and other low cost equivalents.

    When invest through an advisor, the front-load generally may get reduced or eliminated (at some large pre-determined $), advisor fee is also added annually. In the end, layers of “fees”’ adds up quickly. Personally, I much prefer to find cost-effective approaches to invest.
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