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Is American Funds Growth Fund of America R6 (RGAGX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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Having trouble finding a Mutual Fund Equity Report fund? American Funds Growth Fund of America R6 (RGAGX - Free Report) is a possible starting point. RGAGX bears 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
American Funds is responsible for RGAGX, and the company is based out of Los Angeles, CA. American Funds Growth Fund of America R6 debuted in May of 2009. Since then, RGAGX has accumulated assets of about $46.74 billion, according to the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. RGAGX has a 5-year annualized total return of 16.71% 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 18.63%, 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 RGAGX over the past three years is 19.19% compared to the category average of 14.81%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 17.12% compared to the category average of 13.13%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
With a 5-year beta of 1.03, the fund is likely to be as volatile as the market average. 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. RGAGX's 5-year performance has produced a positive alpha of 0.39, which means managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
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, RGAGX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.29% compared to the category average of 1%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, RGAGX 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 R6 ( RGAGX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, American Funds Growth Fund of America R6 ( RGAGX ) looks like a somewhat average 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 RGAGX too for additional information. If you are more of a stock investor, make sure to also check out our Zacks Rank, and our full suite of tools we have available for novice and professional investors alike.
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Is American Funds Growth Fund of America R6 (RGAGX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
Having trouble finding a Mutual Fund Equity Report fund? American Funds Growth Fund of America R6 (RGAGX - Free Report) is a possible starting point. RGAGX bears 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
American Funds is responsible for RGAGX, and the company is based out of Los Angeles, CA. American Funds Growth Fund of America R6 debuted in May of 2009. Since then, RGAGX has accumulated assets of about $46.74 billion, according to the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. RGAGX has a 5-year annualized total return of 16.71% 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 18.63%, 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 RGAGX over the past three years is 19.19% compared to the category average of 14.81%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 17.12% compared to the category average of 13.13%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
With a 5-year beta of 1.03, the fund is likely to be as volatile as the market average. 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. RGAGX's 5-year performance has produced a positive alpha of 0.39, which means managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
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, RGAGX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.29% compared to the category average of 1%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, RGAGX 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 R6 ( RGAGX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, American Funds Growth Fund of America R6 ( RGAGX ) looks like a somewhat average 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 RGAGX too for additional information. If you are more of a stock investor, make sure to also check out our Zacks Rank, and our full suite of tools we have available for novice and professional investors alike.