Looking for a Mutual Fund Equity Report fund? You may want to consider MFS Technology Fund A (MTCAX Quick QuoteMTCAX - Free Report) as a possible option. MTCAX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

History of Fund/Manager

MFS is responsible for MTCAX, and the company is based out of Boston, MA. The MFS Technology Fund A made its debut in January of 1997 and MTCAX has managed to accumulate roughly $862.78 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by Matthew Sabel who has been in charge of the fund since May of 2011.

Performance

Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. MTCAX has a 5-year annualized total return of 25.89% and is 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 27.6%, 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. Compared to the category average of 16.07%, the standard deviation of MTCAX over the past three years is 19.75%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 17.69% compared to the category average of 13.33%. 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. MTCAX has a 5-year beta of 1.01, which means it 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. With a positive alpha of 7.05, managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

Holdings

Exploring 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 mostly on equities that are traded in the United States.

The mutual fund currently has 81.11% of its holdings in stocks, with an average market capitalization of $630.56 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:

1. Technology
2. Retail Trade

This fund's turnover is about 36%, so the fund managers are making fewer trades than comparable funds.

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, MTCAX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.11% compared to the category average of 1.35%. From a cost perspective, MTCAX is actually cheaper than its peers.

Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $1,000 and that each subsequent investment needs to be at $50.

Bottom Line

Overall, MFS Technology Fund A ( MTCAX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, MFS Technology Fund A ( MTCAX ) looks like a somewhat average choice for investors right now.

For additional information on this product, or to compare it to other mutual funds in the Mutual Fund Equity Report, make sure to go to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds 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.