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Is Putnam Global Technology Y (PGTYX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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There are plenty of choices in the Sector - Tech category, but where should you start your research? Well, one fund that might be worth investigating is Putnam Global Technology Y (PGTYX - Free Report) . PGTYX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

The world of Sector - Tech funds is an area filled with options, and PGTYX is one of them. Sector - Tech mutual funds allow investors to own a stake in a notoriously volatile sector with a much more diversified approach. Tech companies can be in any number of industries such as semiconductors, software, internet, networking just to name a few.

History of Fund/Manager

Putnam Funds is based in Canton, MA, and is the manager of PGTYX. Putnam Global Technology Y made its debut in January of 2009, and since then, PGTYX has accumulated about $489.17 million in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund's current manager, Di Yao, has been in charge of the fund since December of 2012.

Performance

Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 30.01%, and it sits in the top third among its category peers. If you're interested in shorter time frames, do not dismiss looking at the fund's 3-year annualized total return of 30.14%, which places it in the top 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 16.66%, the standard deviation of PGTYX over the past three years is 22.79%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 18.86% compared to the category average of 13.84%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

With a 5-year beta of 1.01, the fund is likely to be as volatile as the market average. Because alpha represents a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which is the S&P 500 in this case, one should pay attention to this metric as well. PGTYX has generated a positive alpha over the past five years of 11.83, demonstrating that managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

Expenses

Costs are increasingly important for mutual fund investing, and particularly as competition heats up in this market. And all things being equal, a lower cost product will outperform its otherwise identical counterpart, so taking a closer look at these metrics is key for investors. In terms of fees, PGTYX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.41% compared to the category average of 1.34%. From a cost perspective, PGTYX is actually cheaper than its peers.

Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $0 and that each subsequent investment has no minimum amount.

Bottom Line

Overall, Putnam Global Technology Y ( PGTYX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, worse downside risk, and lower fees, Putnam Global Technology Y ( PGTYX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.

Your research on the Sector - Tech 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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