If you've been stuck searching for Mutual Fund Equity Report funds, consider T. Rowe Price Mid-Cap Growth Fund (RPMGX Quick QuoteRPMGX - Free Report) as a possibility. RPMGX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

History of Fund/Manager

T. Rowe Price is responsible for RPMGX, and the company is based out of Baltimore, MD. T. Rowe Price Mid-Cap Growth Fund made its debut in June of 1992, and since then, RPMGX has accumulated about $22.87 billion in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund's current manager, Brian W. H. Berghuis, has been in charge of the fund since June of 1992.

Performance

Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 14.69%, and it sits in the middle 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 15.09%, 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 RPMGX over the past three years is 20.06% compared to the category average of 16.06%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 17.46% compared to the category average of 14.09%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

With a 5-year beta of 1.05, the fund is likely to be more volatile than the market average. Another factor to consider is alpha, as it reflects a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark-in this case, the S&P 500. The fund has produced a negative alpha over the past 5 years of -2.21, which shows 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 primarily on equities that are traded in the United States.

As of the last filing date, the mutual fund has 75.92% of its assets in stocks, which have an average market capitalization of $24.99 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:

1. Technology
2. Health
3. Retail Trade
4. Industrial Cyclical
5. Other

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, RPMGX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.72% compared to the category average of 1.14%. From a cost perspective, RPMGX is actually cheaper than its peers.

This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $2,500, and each subsequent investment should be at least $100.

Bottom Line

Overall, T. Rowe Price Mid-Cap Growth Fund ( RPMGX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, T. Rowe Price Mid-Cap Growth Fund ( RPMGX ) looks like a great potential choice for investors right now.

For additional information on the Mutual Fund Equity Report area of the mutual fund world, make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds. There, you can see more about the ranking process, and dive even deeper into RPMGX too for additional information. Zacks provides a full suite of tools to help you analyze your portfolio - both funds and stocks - in the most efficient way possible.