If investors are looking at the Mutual Fund Equity Report fund category, make sure to pass over Hartford Growth Opportunities A (HGOAX Quick QuoteHGOAX - Free Report) . HGOAX holds 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 HGOAX. The Hartford Growth Opportunities A made its debut in March of 1963 and HGOAX has managed to accumulate roughly $2.41 billion in assets, as of the most recently available information. Mario Abularach is the fund's current manager and has held that role since March of 2006.

Performance

Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 13.75%, and it sits in the middle 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 9.12%, 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. HGOAX's standard deviation over the past three years is 23.56% compared to the category average of 15.18%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 21.34% compared to the category average of 13.48%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

With a 5-year beta of 1.15, 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. HGOAX's 5-year performance has produced a negative alpha of -0.87, which means 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 mostly on equities that are traded in the United States.

The mutual fund currently has 95.08% of its holdings in stocks, and these companies have an average market capitalization of $323.06 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:

1. Technology
2. Retail Trade

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, HGOAX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.06% compared to the category average of 1.15%. So, HGOAX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.

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

Bottom Line

Overall, Hartford Growth Opportunities A ( HGOAX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, worse downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a somewhat weak 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. 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.