If you have been looking for Large Cap Growth funds, it would not be wise to start your search with PRIMECAP Odyssey Growth Fund (POGRX Quick QuotePOGRX - Free Report) . POGRX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 4 (Sell), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

We classify POGRX in the Large Cap Growth category, an area rife with potential choices. Large Cap Growth funds invest in many large U.S. companies that are expected to grow much faster compared to other large-cap stocks. To be considered large-cap, companies must have a market cap over $10 billion.

History of Fund/Manager

POGRX is a part of the Primecap Odyssey family of funds, a company based out of Pasadena, CA. The PRIMECAP Odyssey Growth Fund made its debut in November of 2004 and POGRX has managed to accumulate roughly $10.22 billion in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by a team of investment professionals.

Performance

Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. POGRX has a 5-year annualized total return of 19.65% and it sits 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 14.68%, 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. POGRX's standard deviation over the past three years is 21.89% compared to the category average of 20.12%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 18.4% compared to the category average of 16.52%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

The fund has a 5-year beta of 1.09, so investors should note that 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. POGRX's 5-year performance has produced a positive alpha of 0.76, which means managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

Expenses

For investors, taking a closer look at cost-related metrics is key, since costs are increasingly important for mutual fund investing. Competition is heating up in this space, and a lower cost product will likely outperform its otherwise identical counterpart, all things being equal. In terms of fees, POGRX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.65% compared to the category average of 1.02%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, POGRX is actually cheaper than its peers.

This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $2,000, and each subsequent investment should 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, PRIMECAP Odyssey Growth Fund ( POGRX ) looks like a somewhat weak choice for investors right now.

This could just be the start of your research on POGRXin the Large Cap Growth category. Consider going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for additional information about this fund, and all the others that we rank as well 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.