Mutual Fund Ratios – Key MF Ratios and Why they are Important (2024)

Mutual funds vary in terms of risk, potential returns and overall performance. These aspects depend on various factors like the type of fund, the general market conditions, the expertise of the fund manager and other such aspects. To evaluate the performance of a fund, you can rely on various mutual fund ratios and metrics like the alpha, beta, Treynor ratio, Sharpe ratio and more.

In this article, we explore what mutual fund ratios are, why they matter and which mutual fund ratios you can use to evaluate mutual fund performance.

What are mutual fund ratios?

Mutual fund ratios are mathematical tools that compare and assess different aspects of mutual fund schemes. They can help you evaluate how risky a mutual fund scheme is, how volatile its returns are likely to be and even how well or poorly the fund has performed relative to other similar funds or a benchmark.

Important Mutual Fund Ratios

To evaluate mutual fund performance comprehensively, you can use a mix of the following key mutual fund ratios.

Alpha

The alpha of a mutual fund is a measure of its performance relative to a benchmark or an index. It is one of the five key risk ratios used in Modern Portfolio Theory (MPT). It is either represented as an absolute value or a percentage. An alpha value of 0 means that a fund has performed the same as its benchmark. An alpha value of over 0 means the fund has outperformed its benchmark, while a value less than 0 means it has underperformed.

For instance, say a fund has delivered 12% returns in the last year. Over the same period, its benchmark index has delivered 16%. This means the fund has underperformed by 4%, so its alpha will be —4.

To make this mutual fund ratio more accurate, you can use Jensen’s alpha (which factors in the risk as well) instead of the standard alpha. The formula for this mutual fund ratios is shown below:

Jensen’s alpha = Fund rate of returns – Risk-free rate of returns – Beta x (Market returns – Risk-free rate of returns)

Standard Deviation (SD)

The standard deviation of a mutual fund gives you insights into how much its returns fluctuate from the fund’s average or mean returns. A high standard deviation indicates that the fund is extremely volatile, while a low SD points to a relatively stable fund.

Beta

The beta is a mutual fund ratio that helps you measure its systematic risk — or the risk that is linked to the broad market. In other words, this ratio tells you how sensitive or volatile a mutual fund portfolio is when compared to the broad market market moment. It is represented as a whole number and can be positive or negative.

The formula for a fund’s beta is:

Beta = (Covariance of the fund’s returns with the market returns) ÷ Variance of the market return

If the beta is 1, it means the fund is exactly as volatile as the market. If the beta is more than 1, the fund is more volatile than the market, and if it is less than 1, it means the fund is less volatile than the market. A negative beta means that the fund’s value moves in the opposite direction to the market’s movement.

Treynor ratio

The Treynor ratio measures the excess returns you get from a mutual fund for every unit of risk (or beta) you take on by investing in the fund.

The formula for this mutual fund ratio is:

Treynor Ratio = (Fund returns — Risk-free rate) ÷ Fund’s beta

This ratio essentially tells you what your risk-adjusted returns are. So, the higher the Treynor ratio, the better the fund’s returns could be.

Sharpe ratio

The Sharpe ratio is another mutual fund ratio that can help you calculate the risk-adjusted returns of a fund. However, unlike the Treynor ratio, the Sharpe ratio uses the standard deviation of the mutual fund as the denominator.

This gives us the following formula:

Sharpe ratio = (Fund returns — Risk-free rate) ÷ Fund’s standard deviation

A higher Sharpe ratio is generally preferred, especially for highly volatile mutual funds. This is because a high Sharpe ratio indicates that the excess returns from the fund justify the risk of the additional volatility in the fund.

Why are Mutual Fund Ratios Important?

These ratios are important because they give you insights into what you can expect from a mutual fund portfolio. With the right mutual fund ratios, you can determine if a fund’s risk-reward profile aligns with your risk-reward preferences. Additionally, these ratios are also helpful if you want to compare mutual funds and select the right scheme for your financial goals.

Conclusion

Different mutual fund ratios offer different insights into the risk, returns and overall performance of a mutual fund. If you are wondering how to choose mutual funds that align with your risk-reward preferences, you need to look into all the ratios outlined above comprehensively.

You can then invest in the funds of your choice directly and easily through the Bajaj Finserv Mutual Fund Platform. Here, you can evaluate and compare over 1,000 mutual funds and find the scheme that is the right fit for your portfolio.

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Mutual Fund Ratios – Key MF Ratios and Why they are Important (2024)

FAQs

Mutual Fund Ratios – Key MF Ratios and Why they are Important? ›

Mutual Fund Ratios are analytical metrics that assess a fund's performance, risk, and cost efficiency. Key ratios include expense ratio, Sharpe ratio, and alpha, which evaluate cost structure, risk-adjusted returns, and performance relative to a benchmark, respectively, aiding in informed investment decisions.

What are the value of financial ratios and why they are important? ›

Financial ratios offer entrepreneurs a way to evaluate their company's performance and compare it other similar businesses in their industry. Ratios measure the relationship between two or more components of financial statements. They are used most effectively when results over several periods are compared.

What is MF ratio? ›

A mutual fund liquidity ratio is a ratio that compares the amount of cash in a mutual fund relative to its total assets. Depending on how a mutual fund ratio is calculated by a specific fund, the cash levels can include just cash or also cash equivalents.

What is a fund's expense ratio and why is it important? ›

Think of the expense ratio as the management fee paid to the fund company for the benefit of owning the fund. The expense ratio is measured as a percent of your investment in the fund. For example, a fund may charge 0.30 percent. That means you'll pay $30 per year for every $10,000 you have invested in that fund.

Which financial ratio is the most important among all ratios? ›

Return on equity ratio

This is one of the most important financial ratios for calculating profit, looking at a company's net earnings minus dividends and dividing this figure by shareholders equity. The result tells you about a company's overall profitability, and can also be referred to as return on net worth.

What is something to watch out for when using financial ratios? ›

Debt-to-capital ratio

The higher the ratio is, the more a company is indebted. In general, debt-to-capital ratios above 40 percent warrant a closer look to make sure the company can handle the debt load. The type of financing a company uses will depend on the individual circ*mstances of that company.

Why is ratios important to investors? ›

These ratios can help you visualize how your company has performed over a given period of time. You can also compare your company's financial ratios with industry averages to see how you compare to other businesses in your sector. Financial ratios may also be used by investors to determine the health of a business.

What are the key ratios of mutual funds? ›

They are alpha, beta, standard deviation, r-squared, and the Sharpe ratio. These statistical measures are historical predictors of investment risk/volatility, and they are all major components of modern portfolio theory (MPT).

How do you analyze MF? ›

Parameters to analyse Mutual Fund performance
  1. Compare the fund's performance to that of its benchmark as well as peers. ...
  2. Check the expense ratio of funds. ...
  3. Check the fund's historical performance across market cycles. ...
  4. Check the strength of the portfolio. ...
  5. Analyse the fund's risk-adjusted returns.
Jun 12, 2024

What is the ideal MF? ›

Many MF farmers find that around 400% MF is enough to give them a good chance of finding Uniques without losing too much speed. At 500%, nearly every gear item is at least Magic quality.

What is the best expense ratio for mutual funds? ›

Investors generally look for a 'good' expense ratio when selecting MFs. Good expense ratios can vary depending on whether the fund is actively or passively managed. Typically, expense ratios between 0.5% and 0.75% are considered 'good' for actively managed funds. Ratios above 1.5% are considered high.

What expense ratio is too high for mutual funds? ›

A "good" expense ratio will be determined by a variety of factors, such as if the fund is actively managed or passively managed. Generally, for an actively managed fund, good expense ratios range between 0.5% and 0.75%. Anything above 1.5% is considered high.

Are most mutual funds actively or passively managed? ›

Mutual funds come in both active and indexed varieties, but most are actively managed.

Which ratios to check before investing? ›

There are six basic ratios that are often used to pick stocks for investment portfolios. Ratios include the working capital ratio, the quick ratio, earnings per share (EPS), price-to-earnings (P/E), debt-to-equity (D/E), and return on equity (ROE).

What is the key financial ratio? ›

Key ratios are the primary financial ratios used to illustrate and summarize the current financial condition of a company. They are produced by comparing different line items from the subject's financial statements. Analysts and investors use key ratios to see how companies stack up against their peers.

What are the key fundamental analysis ratios? ›

Five Key Financial Ratios for Stock Analysis
  • Five key financial ratios for analyzing stocks.
  • Price-to-earnings, or P/E, ratio.
  • Price/earnings-to-growth, or PEG, ratio.
  • Price-to-sales, or P/S, ratio.
  • Price-to-book, or P/B, ratio.
  • Debt-to-equity, or D/E, ratio.
  • Finding your way.
Jan 23, 2023

What is one of the most important uses of financial ratios? ›

Ratios are included in financial dashboards and management reports; they're used by bankers or investors when making lending or investment decisions about your business; but, most importantly, they help you understand the health and performance of your company.

What are financial ratios and what do they indicate? ›

Financial ratios are basic calculations using quantitative data from a company's financial statements. They are used to get insights and important information on the company's performance, profitability, and financial health.

Why are ratios important in real life? ›

Ratios are used in everyday life to make comparisons in-between values. The ratio of two values directly provides us with the information on how many times one value is bigger or smaller than the other. Let us take the example of cricket. Cricketer 1 scored 242 runs in 5 matches in a particular one-day match series.

Why is financial value important? ›

Financial values are important because they guide your financial decisions and behaviors, helping you make smart investment choices and stick to a budget. They also allow you to afford the things you value by ensuring that you are financially stable.

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