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Is Putnam Global Technology Y (PGTYX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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There are plenty of choices in the Mutual Fund Equity Report category, but where should you start your research? Well, one fund that you should consider investigating is Putnam Global Technology Y (PGTYX - Free Report) . PGTYX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

History of Fund/Manager

PGTYX finds itself in the Putnam Funds family, based out of Canton, MA. Putnam Global Technology Y debuted in January of 2009. Since then, PGTYX has accumulated assets of about $264.22 million, according to the most recently available information. Di Yao is the fund's current manager and has held that role since December of 2012.

Performance

Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. PGTYX has a 5-year annualized total return of 15.67% 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 20.01%, 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. The standard deviation of PGTYX over the past three years is 25.49% compared to the category average of 19.33%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 23.47% compared to the category average of 17.09%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

With a 5-year beta of 1.09, the fund is likely to be more volatile than the market average. Because alpha represents a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which is the S&P 500 in this case, one should pay attention to this metric as well. PGTYX's 5-year performance has produced a positive alpha of 4.11, which means managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

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, PGTYX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.84% compared to the category average of 1.29%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, PGTYX is actually cheaper than its peers.

This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $0, while there is no minimum for each subsequent investment.

Bottom Line

Overall, Putnam Global Technology Y ( PGTYX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, worse downside risk, and lower fees, Putnam Global Technology Y ( PGTYX ) looks like a somewhat average choice for investors right now.

This could just be the start of your research on PGTYXin the Mutual Fund Equity Report category. Consider going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for additional information about this fund, and all the others that we rank as well for additional information. And don't forget, Zacks has all of your needs covered on the equity side too! Make sure to check out Zacks.com for more information on our screening capabilities, Rank, and all our articles as well.


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