Looking for a Mutual Fund Equity Report fund? You may want to consider Wasatch Core Growth Fund (WGROX Quick QuoteWGROX - Free Report) as a possible option. WGROX 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

Wasatch is based in Salt Lake City, UT, and is the manager of WGROX. Since Wasatch Core Growth Fund made its debut in November of 1986, WGROX has garnered more than $1.53 billion in assets. The fund's current manager is a team of investment professionals.

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 8.96%, and is 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 17.84%, 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 21.94%, the standard deviation of WGROX over the past three years is 24.49%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 24.16% compared to the category average of 19.67%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

With a 5-year beta of 1.18, 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. With a negative alpha of -2.74, managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick 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 primarily on equities that are traded in the United States.

Currently, this mutual fund is holding 79.2% stock in stocks, with an average market capitalization of $5.32 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:

• Finance
• Industrial Cyclical
• Technology
• Services

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, WGROX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.19% compared to the category average of 1.19%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, WGROX is actually on par with its peers.

While the minimum initial investment for the product is $2,000, investors should also note that each subsequent investment needs to be at least $100.

Bottom Line

Overall, Wasatch Core Growth Fund ( WGROX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and on par fees, Wasatch Core Growth Fund ( WGROX ) looks like a somewhat average choice for investors right now.

Want even more information about WGROX? 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. Zacks provides a full suite of tools to help you analyze your portfolio - both funds and stocks - in the most efficient way possible.