NOTAX vs RALOX Fund Comparison

A comparison between NOTAX and RALOX based on their expense ratio, growth, holdings and how well they match their benchmark performance.

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Minafi's Take on NOTAX vs RALOX

Here's an in depth look at the differences between DWS Strategic High Yield Tax-Free Fund - Class A($NOTAX) and Lazard Real Assets and Pricing Opportunities Portfolio Open Shares($RALOX).

To start off, here's a look at the basics of each fund. Keep an eye on the FI Score. That's a custom score from 0 to 100 that we generate based on how good this fund is for the casual investor. Most investors only need a handful of total funds in their portfolio. The higher the score, the more likely this is one of those few. Score alone isn't enough! Keep reading on to see how different (or perhaps similar) these two funds are.

  • notax
  • Mutual Fund
  • Bond
  • Municipal Bond

DWS Strategic High Yield Tax-Free Fund - Class A

Expenses: 0.91% (Better than 0% of similar funds)

This is a bad choice for a Municipal Bond Bond fund. See why »

  • ralox
  • Mutual Fund
  • Allocation
  • Total World

Lazard Real Assets and Pricing Opportunities Portfolio Open Shares

Expenses: 1.10% (Better than 1% of similar funds)

This is a bad choice for a Total World Allocation fund. See why »

Both $NOTAX and $RALOX are categorized as Mutual Funds. Mutual funds are often offered by 401(k) platforms and are essentially the same as ETFs. Mutual funds are generally offered by an investment platform – Fidelity has Fidelity mutual funds, Vanguard has Vanguard mutual funds. Mutual funds are ideal for retirement investing since you can invest any amount. That allows you to invest every last cent and benefit from the market.

The biggest disadvantage of mutual funds is that you're usually limited to the funds on your investment platform. If you're investing on Fidelity, you'll want to pick Fidelity mutual funds (or any ETF). Same with Vanguard. Some platforms offer mutual funds from other platforms, but they may charge a purchse or redemption fee. I'd recommend using the same platform as your funds – or stick to ETFs.

To learn more about the difference between these two, you can read about the difference between ETFs and Mutual Funds.

When evaluating a fund, the first things I look at are:

  • What it invests in
  • How much it charges in fees
  • How large the fund is

Let's look into these criteria one by one and see if either of these funds stands out.

Fund Holdings Comparison

Minafi's FI Score algorithm takes into account the category and market. The more niche a fund is, the lower the score. This doesn't mean it's a worse fund, but it does mean you should stop and make sure this a fund you need to diversify your portfolio.

NOTAXRALOX
Market Score 6.1 /10 1.1 /10
Category Score 8.0 /10 5.0 /10
Total14.16.1

A score of 10 means this is a solid market and category that almost every investor will want to have investments in. The lower the score, the more specific the investment. These scores are based on when most investors would add these funds to their portfolio. A score of 10 means that this fund (or one like it) belongs in a three-fund portfolio. The lower the score, the farther down in your portfolio a fund would go.

Winner: $NOTAX

Fee Comparison

Fees are one of the biggest killers of portfolio growth. The difference between a 2% fee and a 0.04% fee over 30 years can result in your portfolio having half the total value!

If you're just getting started investing and learning how fees impact your portfolio, I'd encourage you to read through my free investment course (specifically '2.2 - All About Fees') where I go over all the different types of fees you can be charged and how to lower them.

For these two funds, NOTAX has an expense ratio of 0.91% while RALOX has an expense ratio of 1.10%.

Winner: $NOTAX

Fund Size Comparison

One place these two funds differ is in their total assets under management. This is a good indication of how many other investors trust this fund. A large fund by itself doesn't mean it's a good fund, but it is one thing to consider when figuring out how to choose the right fund.

In the case of these two funds, NOTAX is a medium fund with 991 Million in assets under management. RALOX, on the other hand, is a small fund with 18.8 Million in assets under management.

Winner: $NOTAX, DWS Strategic High Yield Tax-Free Fund - Class A

Which Should You Choose? NOTAX or RALOX?

Comparing these two funds isn't an apples to apples comparison. NOTAX is a BondMunicipal Bond fund, while RALOX is a AllocationTotal World fund.

If you're aiming to build a diversified, low-fee, tax-optimized portfolio you likely won't be choosing between these two funds since they're different enough.

Running both of these funds through Minafi's FI Score algorithm, gives NOTAX a score of 43 and RALOX a score of 23.

Winner: Neither, I'd research more funds if you're looking to invest for retirement.

$NOTAX

DWS Strategic High Yield Tax-Free Fund - Class A

43

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Ratings
Rating TypeRating
Expense Ratio Score3/10
Expense Rating1/10
Market Score6/10
Category Score8/10
Overview
OverviewDetails
Fund TypeMutual Fund
Inception DateJan-22-1987
ExchangeNMFQS
Expense Ratio0.910%
Net Assets991 Million
Yield3.87%
Holdings
DescriptionInfo
MarketBond
CategoryMunicipal Bond
Sectors
  • Advance Refunded 2.16%
  • Cash & Equivalents 4.30%
  • Education 10.13%
  • Health 29.83%
  • Housing 2.96%
  • Industrial 5.65%
  • Miscellaneous Revenue 10.36%
  • Municipal 95.70%
  • Other 0.00%
  • State and Local General Obligation 7.44%
  • Tobacco 3.28%
  • Transportation 13.79%
  • Utilities 7.59%
  • Water & Sewer 2.50%

$RALOX

Lazard Real Assets and Pricing Opportunities Portfolio Open Shares

23

Read More
Ratings
Rating TypeRating
Expense Ratio Score5/10
Expense Rating0/10
Market Score1/10
Category Score5/10
Overview
OverviewDetails
Fund TypeMutual Fund
Inception DateDec-30-2016
ExchangeNMFQS
Expense Ratio1.100%
Net Assets18.8 Million
Yield2.31%
Holdings
DescriptionInfo
MarketAllocation
CategoryTotal World
Sectors
  • Basic Materials 0.49%
  • Communication Services 1.57%
  • Consumer Cyclical 3.07%
  • Consumer Defensive 8.08%
  • Energy 0.00%
  • Financial Services 5.51%
  • Healthcare 7.95%
  • Industrials 21.04%
  • Real Estate 32.53%
  • Technology 2.19%
  • Utilities 17.58%
Regions
  • Africa/Middle East 1.09%
  • Asia Developed 4.90%
  • Asia Emerging 2.74%
  • Australasia 4.82%
  • Europe Developed 21.18%
  • Japan 5.54%
  • Latin America 0.14%
  • North America 50.83%
  • United Kingdom 8.78%

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