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Is CGM Focus Fund (CGMFX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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Large Cap Blend fund seekers may want to consider taking a look at CGM Focus Fund . CGMFX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

CGMFX is part of the Large Cap Blend section, an area that boasts an array of many possible options. Large Cap Blend mutual funds most often invest in firms with a market capitalization of $10 billion or more. By investing in bigger companies, these funds offer more stability, and are often well-suited for investors with a " buy and hold " mindset. Blended funds mix large, established companies into their holdings, which gives investors exposure to both value and growth at the same time.

History of Fund/Manager

CGMFX finds itself in the CGM family, based out of Boston, MA. CGM Focus Fund debuted in September of 1997. Since then, CGMFX has accumulated assets of about $342.21 million, according to the most recently available information. The fund's current manager, Ken Heebner, has been in charge of the fund since September of 1997.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 4.17%, and is in the bottom third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of -5.21%, 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 19.15%, the standard deviation of CGMFX over the past three years is 28.57%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 23.61% compared to the category average of 15.63%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

With a 5-year beta of 0.98, the fund is likely to be as volatile as 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. CGMFX has generated a negative alpha over the past five years of -9.58, demonstrating that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick 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, CGMFX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.32% compared to the category average of 0.95%. CGMFX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.

While the minimum initial investment for the product is $2,500, investors should also note that each subsequent investment needs to be at least $50.

Bottom Line

Overall, CGM Focus Fund ( CGMFX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, worse downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a somewhat average choice for investors right now.

Want even more information about CGMFX? Then go over to Zacks.com and check out our mutual fund comparison tool, and all of the other great features that we have to help you with your mutual fund analysis for additional information. If you want to check out our stock reports as well, make sure to go to Zacks.com to see all of the great tools we have to offer, including our time-tested Zacks Rank.

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