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CAUSX - Shelton US Government Securities Direct

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Shelton US Government Securities Direct (CAUSX)
Expense Ratio: 0.74%
Expected Lifetime Fees: $22,639.84


The Shelton US Government Securities Direct fund (CAUSX) is a Short Government fund started on 12/4/1985 and has $37.40 million in assets under management. The current manager has been running Shelton US Government Securities Direct since 03/16/2010. The fund is rated by Morningstar. This fund does not charge 12b-1 fees.

MarketRiders Prefers The Following ETF

iShares Barclays Short Treasury Bond (SHV)
Expense Ratio: 0.14%
Expected Lifetime Fees: $4,561.33


The iShares Barclays Short Treasury Bond (SHV) is an Exchange Traded Fund. It is a "basket" of securities that index the Short Government investment strategy and is an alternative to a Short Government mutual fund. Fees are very low compared to a comparable mutual fund like Shelton US Government Securities Direct because computers automatically manage the stocks.




The Following Short Government Funds Have Lower Fees Than Shelton US Government Securities Direct (CAUSX). Why are these metrics important?
Mutual Fund Name Ticker Symbol Turnover Assets (M) Annual Fees
American Century Short-Term Govt Instl TWUOX 139.0% 806 0.36%
American Century Short-Term Govt Inv TWUSX 139.0% 806 0.56%
BNY Mellon Short-Term US Govt Secs M MPSUX 143.7% 276 0.52%
Commerce Shrt-Term Government Instl CFSTX 27.0% 128 0.68%
Davis Government Bond Y DGVYX 27.0% 162 0.60%
DFA Short-Term Government I DFFGX 64.0% 1,500 0.20%
Federated Adjustable Rate Secs Instl FEUGX 35.0% 934 0.65%
Federated US Govt 1-3 Yr Instl FSGVX 171.0% 449 0.47%
Federated US Govt 1-3 Yr Y FSGTX 171.0% 449 0.30%
Federated US Govt 2-5 Yr Instl FIGTX 153.0% 775 0.59%
Fidelity Instl Shrt-Interm Govt FFXSX 315.0% 503 0.45%
Fidelity Spartan S/T Tr Bd Idx Fid Advt FSBAX 57.0% 780 0.10%
Fidelity Spartan S/T Tr Bd Idx Inv FSBIX 57.0% 780 0.20%
Franklin Adjustable US Govt Secs Adv FAUZX 19.7% 2,500 0.61%
Franklin Limited Maturity US Govt Adv FSUAX 97.2% 528 0.67%
Goldman Sachs Short Dur Govt Instl GSTGX 359.0% 2,100 0.50%
Invesco Limited Maturity Treasury A2 SHTIX 138.0% 125 0.62%
Invesco Limited Maturity Treasury Y LMTYX 138.0% 125 0.47%
JPMorgan Treasury & Agency A OTO1Z 35.0% 370 0.70%
JPMorgan Treasury & Agency Select OGTFX 35.0% 370 0.45%
Loomis Sayles Ltd Term Govt and Agency Y NELYX 66.0% 591 0.60%
Morgan Stanley Limited Dur US Govt Tr LDTRX 99.0% 206 0.71%
Northern Short-Intermediate US Govt NSIUX 1.0% 287 0.43%
Oppenheimer Limited-Term Government Y OLTYX 87.0% 1,800 0.49%
Thornburg Limited-Term US Govt I LTUIX 14.6% 426 0.57%
Vanguard Short-Term Federal Adm VSGDX 411.0% 5,800 0.10%
Vanguard Short-Term Federal Inv VSGBX 411.0% 5,800 0.20%
Vanguard Short-Term Govt Bd Idx Signal VSBSX 69.0% 237 0.14%
Vanguard Short-Term Treasury Adm VFIRX 302.0% 6,400 0.10%
Vanguard Short-Term Treasury Inv VFISX 302.0% 6,400 0.20%
Wells Fargo Advantage Sh Dur Govt Bd Adm MNSGX 485.0% 1,600 0.61%
Wells Fargo Advantage Sh Dur Govt Bd I WSGIX 485.0% 1,600 0.43%



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Why Are These Metrics Important?


Turnover
Turnover represents how much of a mutual fund's holdings are changed over the course of a year through buying and selling. Active mutual funds have an average turnover rate of about 85%, meaning that funds are turning over nearly all of their holdings every year. A high turnover means you could make lower returns because: 1) buying and selling stocks costs money through commissions and spreads and 2) the fund will distribute yearly capital gains which increases your taxes. Look for funds with turnover rates below 50%. For comparison, ETF turnover rates average around 10% or lower.

Assets
Generally, smaller funds do better than larger ones. The more assets in a mutual fund, the lower the chance that it will beat its index. Managers outperform an index by choosing stocks that are undervalued. In order to find these undervalued stocks, the manager has to know more than his competitors to develop an "edge." There are only a finite number of stocks a mutual fund manager can reasonably analyze and actively track to gain such a competitive edge. When the fund has more assets, the manager must analyze large companies because he needs to take larger positions. Large companies are more efficiently priced in the market and it becomes increasingly difficult to get an edge.