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Is JPMorgan Large Cap Value Fund A (OLVAX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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Having trouble finding a Mutual Fund Equity Report fund? JPMorgan Large Cap Value Fund A (OLVAX - Free Report) is a potential starting point. OLVAX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

History of Fund/Manager

J.P. Morgan is responsible for OLVAX, and the company is based out of Boston, MA. Since JPMorgan Large Cap Value Fund A made its debut in February of 1992, OLVAX has garnered more than $289.72 million in assets. The fund is currently managed by Scott Blasdell who has been in charge of the fund since April of 2013.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 8.96%, and it sits 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 26.75%, 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 OLVAX over the past three years is 21.58% compared to the category average of 17.71%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 23.05% compared to the category average of 15.68%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

The fund has a 5-year beta of 1.08, so investors should note that it is hypothetically more volatile than 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. With a negative alpha of -1.96, 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 largely on equities that are traded in the United States.

Right now, 94.73% of this mutual fund's holdings are stocks, which have an average market capitalization of $100.27 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:

  • Finance
  • Non-Durable
With turnover at about 121%, this fund makes more traders than comparable funds in a given year.

Expenses

Costs are increasingly important for mutual fund investing, and particularly as competition heats up in this market. And all things being equal, a lower cost product will outperform its otherwise identical counterpart, so taking a closer look at these metrics is key for investors. In terms of fees, OLVAX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.93% compared to the category average of 0.98%. So, OLVAX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.

Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $1,000; each subsequent investment needs to be at least $50.

Bottom Line

Overall, JPMorgan Large Cap Value Fund A ( OLVAX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, worse downside risk, and lower fees, JPMorgan Large Cap Value Fund A ( OLVAX ) 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.


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