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Is USAA Aggressive Growth Fund (USAUX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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If you're looking for a Large Cap Growth fund category, then a potential option is USAA Aggressive Growth Fund (USAUX - Free Report) . USAUX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
USAUX 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
Victory is based in Columbus, OH, and is the manager of USAUX. Since USAA Aggressive Growth Fund made its debut in October of 1981, USAUX has garnered more than $2.10 billion in assets. The fund is currently managed by a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 18.9%, and it sits in the middle third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 16.3%, which places it in the middle 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. The standard deviation of USAUX over the past three years is 20.78% compared to the category average of 17.61%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 16.86% compared to the category average of 14.75%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
Investors should note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 1.06, which means it is hypothetically more volatile than the market at large. 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. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a positive alpha of 1.76. This means that managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
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, USAUX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.72% compared to the category average of 1.03%. USAUX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.
While the minimum initial investment for the product is $3,000, investors should also note that each subsequent investment needs to be at least $50.
Bottom Line
Overall, USAA Aggressive Growth Fund ( USAUX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a somewhat average choice for investors right now.
Your research on the Large Cap Growth segment doesn't have to stop here. You can check out all the great mutual fund tools we have to offer by going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds to see the additional features we offer as well for additional information. And don't forget, Zacks has all of your needs covered on the equity side too! Make sure to check out Zacks.com for more information on our screening capabilities, Rank, and all our articles as well.
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Is USAA Aggressive Growth Fund (USAUX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
If you're looking for a Large Cap Growth fund category, then a potential option is USAA Aggressive Growth Fund (USAUX - Free Report) . USAUX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
USAUX 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
Victory is based in Columbus, OH, and is the manager of USAUX. Since USAA Aggressive Growth Fund made its debut in October of 1981, USAUX has garnered more than $2.10 billion in assets. The fund is currently managed by a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 18.9%, and it sits in the middle third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 16.3%, which places it in the middle 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. The standard deviation of USAUX over the past three years is 20.78% compared to the category average of 17.61%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 16.86% compared to the category average of 14.75%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
Investors should note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 1.06, which means it is hypothetically more volatile than the market at large. 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. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a positive alpha of 1.76. This means that managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
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, USAUX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.72% compared to the category average of 1.03%. USAUX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.
While the minimum initial investment for the product is $3,000, investors should also note that each subsequent investment needs to be at least $50.
Bottom Line
Overall, USAA Aggressive Growth Fund ( USAUX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a somewhat average choice for investors right now.
Your research on the Large Cap Growth segment doesn't have to stop here. You can check out all the great mutual fund tools we have to offer by going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds to see the additional features we offer as well for additional information. And don't forget, Zacks has all of your needs covered on the equity side too! Make sure to check out Zacks.com for more information on our screening capabilities, Rank, and all our articles as well.