Mutual Fund Scorecard

A mutual fund scorecard measures the consistency of top mutual fund performers over time.
Mutual fund scorecard research has found that consistent, top performing funds tend to share similar characteristics. The mutual fund scorecard will specifically target more experienced management teams which can successfully maneuver their funds through unstable markets. Consistent and top performance funds also tend to have lower expense ratios as well as the expense drag on performance." 
A mutual fund scorecard searches for high-quality companies that are historically cheap and display above-average earnings, revenue growth and strong cash flow. The scorecard will search for risks among 80 companies.
There may be mid-cap funds with better returns in any given year; however, the scorecard doesn't give much credibility to one-year successes. Instead, it highlights funds that will demonstrate success again and again and year after year.

By using a list of 6,061 stock and bond funds, the mutual fund scorecard identifies a select group which displayed as well as earned the best risk-adjusted returns in the past five years. That's why the scoreboard is available and updated monthly for finding fresh investment picks or assessing any current portfolios.

In addition to turning up some unknown names, the scoreboard highlights dozens of standouts at giant mutual fund companies such as Vanguard, Fidelity Investments, T. Rowe Price, and American Funds. In order to check on these companies track records and see how they measure up competitively with other mutual fund companies the scoreboard also includes exchange-traded funds.

A fund must have a performance history of at least five years to get a rating. With data prepared by Standard & Poor's the mutual fund scorecard can measure each fund's monthly performance for the past 60 months. When a fund fails to beat the return of risk-free 90-day U.S. Treasury bills it earns negative marks. Funds will then be ranked by their risk-adjusted returns from a (superior) through F (very poor). While the A funds are best, the B funds are worth a serious look.

By assessing the portfolio data, the mutual fund scorecard wills helps investors pinpoint funds that avoid and prevent risk. Two obvious companies include AIM European Growth, with an overall rating of A and an annualized 21.6% return during the past five years, and AIM International Small Company Fund holding a category rating of A and a five-year annualized return of 33.4%. Both funds are allocated as low risk by the mutual fund scorecard.