Mutual Fund Equity Report fund seekers should not consider taking a look at Hartford Capital Appreciation A (ITHAX Quick QuoteITHAX - Free Report) at this time. ITHAX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 5 (Strong Sell), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

History of Fund/Manager

Hartford is based in Woodbury, MN, and is the manager of ITHAX. Since Hartford Capital Appreciation A made its debut in July of 1996, ITHAX has garnered more than $5.66 billion in assets. The fund is currently managed by Gregg Thomas who has been in charge of the fund since March of 2013.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 15.93%, 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 21.98%, 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. The standard deviation of ITHAX over the past three years is 18.37% compared to the category average of 15.22%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 16.12% compared to the category average of 12.85%. 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 1.01, which means it is hypothetically as volatile as 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 negative alpha of -2.25. This means that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

Holdings

Investigating 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 principally on equities that are traded in the United States.

This fund is currently holding about 93.37% stock in stocks, with an average market capitalization of $191.20 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:

1. Technology
2. Finance
3. Non-Durable

Turnover is 76%, which means, on average, the fund makes more trades in a given year than the average of 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, ITHAX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.04% compared to the category average of 0.95%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, ITHAX is actually more expensive than its peers.

This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $2,000, and each subsequent investment should be at least $50.

Bottom Line

Overall, Hartford Capital Appreciation A ( ITHAX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, average downside risk, and higher fees, Hartford Capital Appreciation A ( ITHAX ) looks like a somewhat weak choice for investors right now.

This could just be the start of your research on ITHAXin the Mutual Fund Equity Report 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. 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.