How to Read the Fund Alarm Data Table
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The following is a sample FundAlarm data table. The main features of the table are indicated with purple numbers, and they are explained below.

If you still have questions, or if you would like help applying information in the data table to your own mutual funds, see our discussion on Deciding to Sell a Mutual Fund. If you want more information about the FundAlarm benchmarks, press the "back" button on your browser once, then click on the "View benchmarks" link at the top of the page.


Key to numbers:

1: This is the name of the fund that you requested. The ticker symbol is indicated in parentheses.

2a, 2b, 2c, 2d: These cells indicate the total return of the fund for the indicated period, in percent. Returns longer than 12 months are compounded average annual returns. Total return includes both distributions (dividends) from the fund and appreciation/depreciation in share value. All returns are before sales load, if any. Thus, cell 2a indicates the return of the fund year-to-date ("YTD"), which is -3.44% in the case of the XYZ Fund. Likewise, cell 2b indicates the return of the fund for the preceding 12 months (5.19%), cell 2c indicates the return of the fund for the preceding three years/36 months (20.63%), and cell 2d indicates the return of the fund for the preceding five years/60 months (19.44%).

Note that the numbers in cells 2a through 2d represent absolute fund performance and, by themselves, these numbers don't indicate whether your fund is a candidate for selling or holding. It is much more meaningful to look at fund performance in relation to a benchmark; you will find this analysis in cells 3a through 3c.

3a, 3b, 3c: These cells show the performance of each fund compared to its "best" benchmark for the past 12 months, three years, and five years, respectively. If a fund has underperformed its benchmark for 12 months, cell 3a will be a negative number, and likewise for cells 3b (three years) and 3c (five years). If a fund has outperformed its benchmark for a given period, the respective cell(s) will contain a positive number.

A fund that has underperformed its benchmark for all three periods is designated as 3-ALARM (cell 3d). At the opposite extreme, a fund that has performed better than its benchmark for all three periods is designated as NO-ALARM. Cell 7 shows the benchmark used for cells 3a through 3c.

For XYZ Fund, cells 3a, 3b, 3c are all negative, which means that XYZ has underperformed its benchmark for the past 12 months, three years and five years Therefore, cell 3d also indicates that XYZ is a 3-ALARM fund.

The colored squares above cell 3d correspond to cells 3a, 3b, and 3c. Thus:
For a 3-ALARM fund, like XYZ, all three squares will be red.

Each square will be green if the fund has performed better than its benchmark for the respective period. A square will be white (with a black outline) if the fund has not been in existence for the respective period, or data is not available.

4: This cell shows the number of years the same person (or team) has managed the fund. An entry of "<1" indicates a manager tenure of less than one year (12 months). In the sample table above, the tenure of the XYZ Fund manager is 19 years.

5: Cell 5 presents an evaluation of the fund's risk, which is expressed in terms of one of the following numbers: -2, -1, +1, +2. As the table indicates, a risk rating of -2 is best, followed by -1, +1, and +2 (the worst). For an explanation of how the FundAlarm risk rating is determined, click the link within the data table that says "Explan risk."

6: This cell indicates the median market capitalization ("Med. Mkt. Cap.") of the stocks owned by the fund, in millions of dollars ("$MM"). (The market capitalization of a company is the number of shares outstanding times the price per share.) Thus, in the sample table above, the median market cap of the stocks owned by XYZ Fund is $68,000,000,000 -- in other words, half the stocks in this fund have a market cap above $68 billion, and half have a market cap below this amount. As explained in Deciding to Sell a Mutual Fund, it can be important to know the market cap of your fund in order to determine the "fit" of its FundAlarm benchmark.

7: As noted previously, this cell indicates the benchmark used to evaluate the performance of a fund. In the case of XYZ Fund, the benchmark is the Vanguard 500 Index Fund.

8 : This cell shows the equity "style" of the fund. The three style alternatives are "Growth," "Value," and "Blend" (the latter is assigned when a fund is not clearly in either the Growth or Value category). As you will note from the sample table above, XYZ is considered a "Blend" fund.

9a, 9b, 9c: These cells show the fund's performance versus other funds with the same benchmark and style (i.e., the fund's "benchmark/style peer group"), for periods of 12 months, three years, and five years. For example, if a fund has a lower return than the average fund in its benchmark/style peer group for the past 12 months ("12 Mo."), cell 9a will indicate "Lower"; otherwise, cell 9a will indicate "Higher." Cells 9b and 9c are completed in the same manner, for periods of three years ("3 Yrs.") and five years, respectively.

Note that cells 9a through 9c are not not applicable to Specialty funds; for Specialty funds, cells 9a through 9c will always indicate "NA." Cells 9a through 9c will also indicate "NA" if FundAlarm is unable to assign a fund to a benchmark/style peer group. Finally, cell 9a, 9b, or 9c will indicate "NA" if a fund has not been in existence for the entire indicated period.

According to the sample table above, XYZ Fund belongs to the Vanguard 500 Index/Blend peer group -- in other words, it is a large-cap/blend fund (cells 7 and 8). The table also tells us that XYZ has underperformed the average large-cap/blend fund -- its peer group -- for the past 12 months, three years, and five years ("Lower Lower Lower").

For a discussion of how each fund is assigned its benchmark, see Deciding to Sell a Mutual Fund

10a, 10b, 10c: Cell 10a shows the amount of assets that the fund most recently had under management, in millions of dollars. Thus, in the sample table above, the net assets owned by the XYZ Fund were $989,000,000 ($989 million). Cell 10b shows the amount of assets that the fund had under management three months ago, in millions of dollars. In the sample table above, the net assets owned by the XYZ Fund three months ago were $1,043,000,000 ($1,043 million=$1.043 billion). Cell 10c shows the "percentage change in net assets" of the fund, measured from three months ago to the most recent date. In the sample table above, the percentage change in net assets owned by the XYZ Fund was -5.2% -- in other words, there is a -5.2% difference between $989 million and $1,043 million in assets. (If number in cell 10c is positive, it means that the fund has gained assets over the past three months.) The percentage change in net assets is one indication whether your fund's asset base is growing or shrinking too fast.

11: Data item 11 indicates if the fund is "Open" or "Closed" to investors. In general, a fund that is indicated as "Closed" will still accept money from an investor who already owns shares. In a few cases, a "Closed" fund will refuse to accept money from existing shareholders as well as new investors.

12: Data item 12 indicates the date as of which the fund data is presented.

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