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Is Columbia Global Technology Growth A (CTCAX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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If you have been looking for Mutual Fund Equity Report funds, a place to start could be Columbia Global Technology Growth A (CTCAX - Free Report) . CTCAX 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

Columbia is based in Kansas City, MO, and is the manager of CTCAX. Columbia Global Technology Growth A made its debut in November of 2002, and since then, CTCAX has accumulated about $554.66 million in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund is currently managed by Rahul Narang who has been in charge of the fund since July of 2012.

Performance

Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. CTCAX has a 5-year annualized total return of 17.41% and is in the top 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 15.68%, which places it in the top 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. CTCAX's standard deviation over the past three years is 23.02% compared to the category average of 16.91%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 21.1% compared to the category average of 15.24%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

With a 5-year beta of 1.12, the fund is likely to be more volatile than 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. CTCAX has generated a positive alpha over the past five years of 3.28, demonstrating that managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

Holdings

Examining 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.

As of the last filing date, the mutual fund has 98.61% of its assets in stocks, with an average market capitalization of $482.06 billion. Turnover is 12%, which means this fund makes fewer trades than the average comparable fund.

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, CTCAX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.17% compared to the category average of 1.30%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, CTCAX is actually cheaper than its peers.

Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $2,000; each subsequent investment has no minimum amount.

Bottom Line

Overall, Columbia Global Technology Growth A ( CTCAX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, worse downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.

Don't stop here for your research on Mutual Fund Equity Report funds. We also have plenty more on our site in order to help you find the best possible fund for your portfolio. Make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for more information about the world of funds, and feel free to compare CTCAX to its peers as well 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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