If you've been stuck searching for Mutual Fund Equity Report funds, consider American Funds Mutual Fund A (AMRMX Quick QuoteAMRMX - Free Report) as a possibility. AMRMX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

History of Fund/Manager

AMRMX finds itself in the American Funds family, based out of Los Angeles, CA. American Funds Mutual Fund A made its debut in February of 1950, and since then, AMRMX has accumulated about $35.80 billion in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund is currently managed by a team of investment professionals.

Performance

Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 9.2%, and it sits in the top third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 9.75%, 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. Compared to the category average of 16.91%, the standard deviation of AMRMX over the past three years is 16.51%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 14.35% compared to the category average of 14.84%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

With a 5-year beta of 0.74, the fund is likely to be less 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. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a positive alpha of 0.52. This means 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 95.08% of its assets in stocks, and these companies have an average market capitalization of $225.58 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:

1. Other
2. Technology
3. Finance

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, AMRMX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.58% compared to the category average of 0.99%. From a cost perspective, AMRMX is actually cheaper than its peers.

While the minimum initial investment for the product is $250, investors should also note that each subsequent investment needs to be at least $50.

Bottom Line

Overall, American Funds Mutual Fund A ( AMRMX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, American Funds Mutual Fund A ( AMRMX ) looks like a good 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.