Nuveen Tradewinds Value Opportunities A (NVOAX) Fund

Having large cap US stock mutual funds can be very essential for many investors. One of the best large cap US stock mutual funds are Nuveen Tradewinds Value Opportunities mutual fund.

Nuveen Tradewinds Value Opportunities A (NVOAX)

The investment objective of Nuveen Tradewinds Value Opportunities fund is to seek long-term capital growth. This large blend US stock mutual fund invests mainly in equity securities of US companies with varying market capitalizations (small-, mid-, and large-capitalization companies). It may invest in non-U.S equity securities and in emerging market countries companies stocks.

Fund Profile

• Fund Inception Date: 12/9/2004
• Ticker Symbol: NVOAX
• CUSIP: 67064Y669
• Beta (3yr): 0.86
• Rank in category (YTD): 9%
• Category: Large Blend
• Distribution: 2.19%
• Capital Gains: 0%
• Expense Ratio: 1.20%  
• Net Assets: $ 3.25 billion
• Number of Years Up: 5 years
• Number of Years Down: 2 years
• Annual Turnover Rate: 77%

Updated on 4/20/2012

Nuveen Tradewinds Value Opps

This stock mutual fund has total net assets of $3.25 billion. The 12-month dividend is 2.19%. The annual expense ratio of this fund is 1.20%. The annual holdings turnover rate as of February 15, 2012 is 77% while the average in the Large Blend category is 50.87%. This fund is currently managed by David B. Iben. He is the Co-President and Chief Investment Officer of Tradewinds. The 12b1 fee is 0.25%. The maximum sales charge of this fund is 5.75%.

This best mutual fund is rated with 5-stars rating by Morningstar. The fund has an impressive long term performance for the past 7 years. It has managed to have 5 years of positive return. In 2009, this mutual fund recorded its best total return with 50.79%. Based on the load adjusted return, this fund has returned 21.50% over the past 3-year and 5.64% over the past 5-year. The performance of this fund for the past 5 years is:

• Year 2010: 23.81%
• Year 2009: 50.79%
• Year 2008: -32.03%
• Year 2007: 10.53%
• Year 2006: 25.07%
• Year 2005: 18.97%

Investors who are interested to buy this large blend mutual fund can open a brokerage account with minimum initial investment of $3,000. As for the retirement account (Roth IRA & traditional IRA), the initial investment needed is $2,000. The minimum subsequent investment is $100.

This stock fund can be purchased from 92 brokerages hence it is widely available. The brokerages are Merrill Lynch, Scottrade Load, JP Morgan, Vanguard, Pershing Fund Center, E Trade Financial, Edward Jones, etc. You can find other classes of this Nuveen Tradewinds Value Opportunities fund are Class B (NVOBX), Class C (NVOCX), Class R3 (NTVTX) and Class I (NVORX).

Note: US Stock mutual funds can be categorized into three main categories such as Large Cap mutual funds, Mid Cap mutual funds, and Small Cap mutual funds. 

Fund Composition

The top 10 holdings as of January 31, 2012 are Cash Equivalent (9.54%), Newmont Mining Corp (3.93%), Barrick Gold Corp (3.70%), Cameco Corp (3.36%), Microsoft Corp (3.19%), Kinross Gold Corp (3.10%), Chesapeake Energy Corp (2.63%), Newcrest Mining Ltd Spons ADR (2.52%), Lilly Eli & Co (2.36%) and Polyis Gold International Spon GDR (2.24%).

The top 3 countries are United States (54.28%), Canada (16.90%) and Australia (2.52%). The top sectors are Materials (20.58%), Energy (18.24%), Information Technology (10.91%), Financials (8.65%) and Industrials (8.52%).

Principal investment risks are: Common Stock Risk, Market Risk, Non-U.S. Investment Risk, Smaller Company Risk, etc.

Pros & Cons

Several advantages in investing in this NVOAX fund:

• It was recognized as best large blend mutual funds
• Popular among investors with $3.2 billion of assets
• Low initial investment requirement (only $3,000)

The disadvantages are:

• The class A fund has a sales load of 5.75%
• The expense ratio is slightly higher than average
• It is limited to new investors as of 2012

Disclosure: No Position

Other Top Mutual Funds:

• American Funds Fundamental Investors A (ANCFX)