By Richard Loth (
Contact |
Biography)
The Morningstar and Value line mutual fund reports all present current and historical portfolio turnover figures. This is a useful piece of comparative data. (See sample
Morningstar and
Value Line reports.)
This is the entry we need to complete in the
Fund Investment Quality Scorecard for an analysis of a mutual fund's portfolio turnover:
Targets for portfolio turnover in a managed stock fund would peg the current percentage at or below 30% for a high evaluation and at or below 60% for an above-average evaluation. In addition, the fund's turnover rate should be substantially below its peer group. The fund's current and historical portfolio turnover rates should be comparable, and if the former is lower, so much the better. If these investment qualities are evident, the fund should get a positive rating in this aspect of its operations.
Hopefully, you now have a better appreciation of what portfolio turnover is all about. This seemingly minor percentage figure tells us a lot about a fund manager's commitment to containing costs, which, if the job is well done, makes a fund more profitable and investor friendly.
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