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Is American Funds Growth Fund of America A (AGTHX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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Any investors hoping to find a Mutual Fund Equity Report fund could think about starting with American Funds Growth Fund of America A (AGTHX - Free Report) . AGTHX possesses 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
AGTHX finds itself in the American Funds family, based out of Los Angeles, CA. American Funds Growth Fund of America A debuted in December of 1973. Since then, AGTHX has accumulated assets of about $144.01 billion, according to the most recently available information. The fund's current manager is a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 17.31%, and it sits in the bottom 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 20.13%, 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. The standard deviation of AGTHX over the past three years is 18.93% compared to the category average of 14.54%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 16.96% compared to the category average of 12.78%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
The fund has a 5-year beta of 1.03, so investors should note that it is hypothetically as volatile as the market at large. 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 0.27, managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
Expenses
As competition heats up in the mutual fund market, costs become increasingly important. Compared to its otherwise identical counterpart, a low-cost product will be an outperformer, all other things being equal. Thus, taking a closer look at cost-related metrics is vital for investors. In terms of fees, AGTHX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.61% compared to the category average of 0.99%. From a cost perspective, AGTHX is actually cheaper than its peers.
Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $250 and that each subsequent investment needs to be at $50.
Bottom Line
Overall, American Funds Growth Fund of America A ( AGTHX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, American Funds Growth Fund of America A ( AGTHX ) looks like a somewhat average choice for investors right now.
Your research on the Mutual Fund Equity Report 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. Zacks provides a full suite of tools to help you analyze your portfolio - both funds and stocks - in the most efficient way possible.
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Is American Funds Growth Fund of America A (AGTHX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
Any investors hoping to find a Mutual Fund Equity Report fund could think about starting with American Funds Growth Fund of America A (AGTHX - Free Report) . AGTHX possesses 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
AGTHX finds itself in the American Funds family, based out of Los Angeles, CA. American Funds Growth Fund of America A debuted in December of 1973. Since then, AGTHX has accumulated assets of about $144.01 billion, according to the most recently available information. The fund's current manager is a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 17.31%, and it sits in the bottom 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 20.13%, 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. The standard deviation of AGTHX over the past three years is 18.93% compared to the category average of 14.54%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 16.96% compared to the category average of 12.78%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
The fund has a 5-year beta of 1.03, so investors should note that it is hypothetically as volatile as the market at large. 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 0.27, managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
Expenses
As competition heats up in the mutual fund market, costs become increasingly important. Compared to its otherwise identical counterpart, a low-cost product will be an outperformer, all other things being equal. Thus, taking a closer look at cost-related metrics is vital for investors. In terms of fees, AGTHX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.61% compared to the category average of 0.99%. From a cost perspective, AGTHX is actually cheaper than its peers.
Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $250 and that each subsequent investment needs to be at $50.
Bottom Line
Overall, American Funds Growth Fund of America A ( AGTHX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, American Funds Growth Fund of America A ( AGTHX ) looks like a somewhat average choice for investors right now.
Your research on the Mutual Fund Equity Report 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. Zacks provides a full suite of tools to help you analyze your portfolio - both funds and stocks - in the most efficient way possible.