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Is MassMutual Select Mid Cap Growth I (MEFZX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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There are plenty of choices in the Mutual Fund Equity Report category, but where should you start your research? Well, one fund that might be worth investigating is MassMutual Select Mid Cap Growth I (MEFZX - Free Report) . MEFZX carries 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
MassMutual is responsible for MEFZX, and the company is based out of Springfield, MA. The MassMutual Select Mid Cap Growth I made its debut in November of 2010 and MEFZX has managed to accumulate roughly $5.21 billion in assets, as of 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 13.77%, 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 13.21%, 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. Over the past three years, MEFZX's standard deviation comes in at 20.42%, compared to the category average of 15.63%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 17.9% compared to the category average of 13.86%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
The fund has a 5-year beta of 1.06, so investors should note that it is hypothetically more volatile than the market at large. 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. MEFZX's 5-year performance has produced a negative alpha of -1.74, which means managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick 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 primarily on equities that are traded in the United States.
Right now, 85.23% of this mutual fund's holdings are stocks, and these companies have an average market capitalization of $27.99 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
Technology
Retail Trade
Health
Industrial Cyclical
Turnover is 29%, which means this fund makes fewer trades than the average comparable fund.
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, MEFZX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.70% compared to the category average of 1.15%. MEFZX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.
Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $0; each subsequent investment has no minimum amount.
Bottom Line
Overall, MassMutual Select Mid Cap Growth I ( MEFZX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, MassMutual Select Mid Cap Growth I ( MEFZX ) looks like a great potential 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. For analysis of the rest of your portfolio, make sure to visit Zacks.com for our full suite of tools which will help you investigate all of your stocks and funds in one place.
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Is MassMutual Select Mid Cap Growth I (MEFZX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
There are plenty of choices in the Mutual Fund Equity Report category, but where should you start your research? Well, one fund that might be worth investigating is MassMutual Select Mid Cap Growth I (MEFZX - Free Report) . MEFZX carries 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
MassMutual is responsible for MEFZX, and the company is based out of Springfield, MA. The MassMutual Select Mid Cap Growth I made its debut in November of 2010 and MEFZX has managed to accumulate roughly $5.21 billion in assets, as of 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 13.77%, 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 13.21%, 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. Over the past three years, MEFZX's standard deviation comes in at 20.42%, compared to the category average of 15.63%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 17.9% compared to the category average of 13.86%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
The fund has a 5-year beta of 1.06, so investors should note that it is hypothetically more volatile than the market at large. 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. MEFZX's 5-year performance has produced a negative alpha of -1.74, which means managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick 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 primarily on equities that are traded in the United States.
Right now, 85.23% of this mutual fund's holdings are stocks, and these companies have an average market capitalization of $27.99 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
- Technology
- Retail Trade
- Health
- Industrial Cyclical
Turnover is 29%, which means this fund makes fewer trades than the average comparable fund.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, MEFZX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.70% compared to the category average of 1.15%. MEFZX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.
Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $0; each subsequent investment has no minimum amount.
Bottom Line
Overall, MassMutual Select Mid Cap Growth I ( MEFZX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, MassMutual Select Mid Cap Growth I ( MEFZX ) looks like a great potential 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. For analysis of the rest of your portfolio, make sure to visit Zacks.com for our full suite of tools which will help you investigate all of your stocks and funds in one place.