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Is Thrivent Large Cap Value Fund S (TLVIX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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If investors are looking at the Mutual Fund Equity Report fund category, Thrivent Large Cap Value Fund S (TLVIX - Free Report) could be a potential option. TLVIX holds 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

Thrivent is based in Appleton, WI, and is the manager of TLVIX. The Thrivent Large Cap Value Fund S made its debut in December of 1997 and TLVIX has managed to accumulate roughly $1.66 billion in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund's current manager, Kurt Lauber, has been in charge of the fund since March of 2013.

Performance

Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 9.96%, and it sits in the top 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 12.53%, 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. TLVIX's standard deviation over the past three years is 22.23% compared to the category average of 19.31%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 19.79% compared to the category average of 16.96%. 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, so investors should note that it is hypothetically as volatile as the market at large. 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. TLVIX has generated a negative alpha over the past five years of -0.64, demonstrating that 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 mostly on equities that are traded in the United States.

As of the last filing date, the mutual fund has 92.58% of its assets in stocks, with an average market capitalization of $156.76 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:

  1. Finance
  2. Technology
  3. Industrial Cyclical
With turnover at about 16%, this fund is making 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, TLVIX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.55% compared to the category average of 0.99%. TLVIX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.

While the minimum initial investment for the product is $2,000, investors should also note that each subsequent investment needs to be at least $50.

Bottom Line

Overall, Thrivent Large Cap Value Fund S ( TLVIX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Thrivent Large Cap Value Fund S ( TLVIX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.

Want even more information about TLVIX? Then go over to Zacks.com and check out our mutual fund comparison tool, and all of the other great features that we have to help you with your mutual fund analysis for additional information. If you want to check out our stock reports as well, make sure to go to Zacks.com to see all of the great tools we have to offer, including our time-tested Zacks Rank.


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