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Is PRIMECAP Odyssey Growth Fund (POGRX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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If investors are looking at the Large Cap Growth fund category, make sure to pass over PRIMECAP Odyssey Growth Fund (POGRX - Free Report) . POGRX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 4 (Sell), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

POGRX is part of the Large Cap Growth section, and this segment boasts an array of other possible options. Large Cap Growth mutual funds purchase stakes in numerous large U.S. companies that are expected to develop and grow at a faster rate than other large-cap stocks. Companies are usually considered to be large-cap if their market capitalization is over $10 billion.

History of Fund/Manager

Primecap Odyssey is based in Pasadena, CA, and is the manager of POGRX. PRIMECAP Odyssey Growth Fund debuted in November of 2004. Since then, POGRX has accumulated assets of about $9.43 billion, according to the most recently available information. A team of investment professionals is the fund's current manager.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. POGRX has a 5-year annualized total return of 14.62% and is in the bottom third among its category peers. But if you are looking for a shorter time frame, it is also worth looking at its 3-year annualized total return of 11.39%, which places it in the bottom third during this time-frame.

When looking at a fund's performance, it is also important to note the standard deviation of the returns. The lower the standard deviation, the less volatility the fund experiences. Compared to the category average of 20.15%, the standard deviation of POGRX over the past three years is 22.54%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 19.28% compared to the category average of 16.88%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

Investors should not forget about beta, an important way to measure a mutual fund's risk compared to the market as a whole. POGRX has a 5-year beta of 1.16, which means it is likely to be more volatile than the market average. Alpha is an additional metric to take into consideration, since it represents a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which in this case, is the S&P 500. POGRX's 5-year performance has produced a negative alpha of -2.05, which means managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

Holdings

Investigating the equity holdings of a mutual fund is also a valuable exercise. This can show us how the manager is applying their stated methodology, as well as if there are any inherent biases in their approach. For this particular fund, the focus is principally on equities that are traded in the United States.

As of the last filing date, the mutual fund has 75.85% of its assets in stocks, with an average market capitalization of $132.47 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:

  1. Technology
  2. Health
Turnover is 9%, which means, on average, the fund makes fewer trades than the average comparable fund.

Expenses

As competition heats up in the mutual fund market, costs become increasingly important. Compared to its otherwise identical counterpart, a low-cost product will be an outperformer, all other things being equal. Thus, taking a closer look at cost-related metrics is vital for investors. In terms of fees, POGRX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.65% compared to the category average of 1.04%. From a cost perspective, POGRX is actually cheaper than its peers.

Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $2,000; each subsequent investment needs to be at least $100.

Bottom Line

Overall, PRIMECAP Odyssey Growth Fund ( POGRX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a somewhat weak choice for investors right now.

Don't stop here for your research on Large Cap Growth funds. We also have plenty more on our site in order to help you find the best possible fund for your portfolio. Make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for more information about the world of funds, and feel free to compare POGRX to its peers as well for additional information. Zacks provides a full suite of tools to help you analyze your portfolio - both funds and stocks - in the most efficient way possible.


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