← GO BACK

June 18, 2024

Mutual Fund API: What you need to know

Autor:
Bavest
Engineering

Fund APIs are an important solution in the financial sector, enabling fintechs, banks and asset managers to access comprehensive fund data and analysis. In this article you will learn everything you need to know about fund APIs.

What are fund APIs?

Fund APIs are interfaces that enable developers to access investment fund data and integrate it into their applications. These APIs provide information such as fund prices, historical data, performance metrics, and more. With this technology, applications can be updated in real time and provide custom features that are valuable to investors.

What do you have to consider with fund APIs?

There are several important aspects to consider when using fund APIs:

  1. datality: The accuracy and timeliness of the data is crucial. Make sure that the API provider provides trustworthy and up-to-date data.
  2. Expenses: Some APIs are chargeable. It's important to understand the pricing structure and consider whether the features offered justify the price.
  3. Documentation and Support: A well-documented API and reliable customer support are essential for smooth integration and use.
  4. Safety measures: Data security should be a top priority. Make sure the API uses encryption and other security protocols.

Use Cases

Fund APIs can be used in various use cases:

  1. Investment app: Create an app that allows investors to search, analyze fund data, and make investment decisions.
  2. Portfolio Tracking: Develop a tool that helps investors track and manage their fund portfolios in real time.
  3. Screener Tool: Offer a screening tool that helps users find the best funds based on specific criteria such as performance, risk, and costs.
  4. Investment Research: Create platforms that provide detailed analysis and reports on various funds.
  5. Fund comparison tools: Develop tools that enable investors to compare different funds and choose the best options.
  6. Fund news: Provide up-to-date news and analysis about funds and their markets to keep investors informed.

Example: Determine Allocation Exposure using Bavest API & Python

To analyze a fund's exposure, you can use the Bavest API to obtain information about the fund's allocation and exposure. Here's a Python code snippet that shows how this can be done:

import requests
import json

# Define the API endpoint and the payload with the ISIN of the fund
url = "https://api.bavest.co/v0/fund/allocation-exposure"
payload = { "isin": "DE000ETFL573" }
headers = {
    "accept": "application/json",
    "content-type": "application/json",
    "x-api-key": "11XKXKX00XKKX03X"
}

# Make a POST request to the API
response = requests.post(url, json=payload, headers=headers)

# Check if the request was successful
if response.status_code == 200:
    # Parse the JSON response
    data = response.json()
    print("Exposure Details:")
    print(json.dumps(data, indent=4))
else:
    print(f"Failed to retrieve data: {response.status_code}")

# Analyze the response data
if 'allocation' in data:
    allocation = data['allocation']
    print("\nFund Allocation:")
    for key, value in allocation.items():
        print(f"{key}: {value}")

    # Extracting exposure details
    if 'exposure' in allocation:
        exposure = allocation['exposure']
        print("\nFund Exposure:")
        for key, value in exposure.items():
            print(f"{key}: {value}")
else:
    print("No allocation data available.")

Explanation of Python code
  1. Define API endpoint and payload: The urlvariable is assigned to the API endpoint, and payload contains the ISIN of the fund whose exposure is to be analysed.
  2. Set headers: The headersvariable, the required headers are added, including the API key.
  3. Send a POST request to the API: With requests.post () A POST request is sent to the API.
  4. Check the answer and analyze data:
    • If the request is successful (status_code == 200), the JSON response is parsed.
    • The exposure details are printed out.
    • If available, the fund's allocation data is extracted and output.
  5. error handling: If the request fails, an error message is returned.

This code snippet helps you analyze a fund's exposure and allocation using the Bavest API. They can further process the issued data to gain detailed insights into the fund's investment strategy.

A possible response from the Bavest API in the form of JSON can look like this:

{
  "stock": 100,
  "other": 0,
  "cash": 0,
  "fixedIncome": 0,
  "preferred": 0,
  "commodities": 0
}

Which metrics are decisive for funds?

When analyzing investment funds, certain metrics are particularly important:

  • beta: Measures the volatility of a fund compared to the overall market.
  • alpha: Evaluates a fund's performance against a benchmark index.
  • Sharpe Ratio: Calculates the risk/return ratio of a fund.
  • Expense ratio: Shows the annual costs of a fund as a percentage of assets under management.
  • R-Squared: Measures how well a fund's returns reflect the movements of a benchmark index.
  • Risk Level: Assesses the overall risk of a fund.
  • Rolling Returns: Show the average return of a fund over specific periods of time.
  • Fund fees: Includes all fees associated with owning a fund.

How do you analyse funds?

Analyzing funds is an essential step in making well-founded investment decisions and minimizing risk. Here are the key steps and metrics that should be considered when analyzing funds:

1. Understanding fund type and investment objective

The first step in fund analysis is to understand the type of fund and its investment objective. There are different types of funds, such as equity funds, bond funds, mixed funds and index funds, each with different investment objectives. The investment objective may be capital growth, income generation, or a combination of both.

2. Analyze historical performance

The historical performance of a fund provides an insight into its past development. Key points include:

  • Past returns: Review the fund's annual returns over various periods of time (1 year, 3 years, 5 years, 10 years).
  • Comparing with the Benchmark: Compare the fund's performance with an appropriate benchmark index to see how well the fund performed compared to the market.

3. Risk assessment

Understanding a fund's risk is critical. Here are a few key risk measurements:

  • beta: Measures the volatility of a fund compared to the overall market. A beta of 1 means that the fund is just as volatile as the market; a beta above 1 means higher volatility.
  • alpha: Evaluates a fund's performance compared to a benchmark index after taking risk into account. A positive alpha shows better performance than the market.
  • Standard deviation: Measures the spread of a fund's returns and shows volatility.
  • Sharpe Ratio: Evaluates the risk/return ratio by measuring a fund's excess return in relation to volatility.

4. Analyze costs and charges

The costs and fees of a fund can significantly affect returns. The following should be considered:

  • Expense ratio: The fund's annual operating costs as a percentage of assets under management. A lower expense ratio is more beneficial.
  • Management fees: Charged fees for managing the fund.
  • Sales loads: Fees charged when buying (front-end load) or selling (back-end load) fund shares.

5. Fund Manager and Investment Strategy

The Fund Manager and His Investment Strategy Play an Important Role in Fund Performance:

  • Fund Manager Experience and Success: Review the Fund Manager's Track Record and Experience.
  • investment strategy: Understand the Fund's Strategy, such as what types of securities the fund holds, which sectors or countries it prefers, and how it makes investment decisions.

6. Diversification

Diversification helps to minimize risk:

  • Number of positions in the fund: A diversified fund holds a wide range of securities.
  • Sector and country allocation: Check how well the fund is spread across different sectors and countries.

7. Fund volume and liquidity

Fund volume and liquidity are also important factors:

  • Fund volume: Too large a fund volume can limit the fund manager's flexibility.
  • Liquidity: Make sure the fund is easy to buy and sell.

8. Fund analysis metrics

Here are some key metrics for evaluating funds:

  • Rolling Returns: Show the average return of a fund over specific periods of time and provide insight into the consistency of performance.
  • R-Squared: Measures how well a fund's returns reflect the movements of a benchmark index. A high value indicates a strong correlation.
  • Risk Level: Evaluates a fund's overall risk and helps investors understand the risk level.

Conclusion

Fund APIs provide a valuable resource for developers and investors who need detailed and up-to-date fund information. By integrating these APIs with various applications, users can make better and more informed investment decisions. However, it's important to consider data quality, costs, documentation, and security measures when choosing and using an API. With the right metrics and tools, fund APIs can add significant value to any investment strategy.

The Bavest API: Real-Time Fund Data & Metrics

With our API, you have access to comprehensive financial and real-time data for various funds. Book a demo and talk to our team to learn more about how you can effectively use financial data and alternative data in your organization with our single API solution.

blog

More articles