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Is T. Rowe Price Balanced (RPBAX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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If investors are looking at the Mutual Fund Equity Report fund category, T. Rowe Price Balanced (RPBAX - Free Report) could be a potential option. RPBAX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
History of Fund/Manager
T. Rowe Price is based in Baltimore, MD, and is the manager of RPBAX. Since T. Rowe Price Balanced made its debut in December of 1939, RPBAX has garnered more than $2.32 billion in assets. Charles Shriver is the fund's current manager and has held that role since May of 2011.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 5.48%, and it sits in the middle 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 9.97%, 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. RPBAX's standard deviation over the past three years is 13.89% compared to the category average of 15.85%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 13.12% compared to the category average of 13.89%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
With a 5-year beta of 0.68, 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 negative alpha of -2.67. This means that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick 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, RPBAX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.57% compared to the category average of 0.86%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, RPBAX is actually cheaper than its peers.
Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $2,500; each subsequent investment needs to be at least $100.
Bottom Line
Overall, T. Rowe Price Balanced ( RPBAX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, T. Rowe Price Balanced ( RPBAX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
Want even more information about RPBAX? 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. 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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Is T. Rowe Price Balanced (RPBAX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
If investors are looking at the Mutual Fund Equity Report fund category, T. Rowe Price Balanced (RPBAX - Free Report) could be a potential option. RPBAX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
History of Fund/Manager
T. Rowe Price is based in Baltimore, MD, and is the manager of RPBAX. Since T. Rowe Price Balanced made its debut in December of 1939, RPBAX has garnered more than $2.32 billion in assets. Charles Shriver is the fund's current manager and has held that role since May of 2011.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 5.48%, and it sits in the middle 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 9.97%, 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. RPBAX's standard deviation over the past three years is 13.89% compared to the category average of 15.85%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 13.12% compared to the category average of 13.89%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
With a 5-year beta of 0.68, 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 negative alpha of -2.67. This means that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick 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, RPBAX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.57% compared to the category average of 0.86%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, RPBAX is actually cheaper than its peers.
Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $2,500; each subsequent investment needs to be at least $100.
Bottom Line
Overall, T. Rowe Price Balanced ( RPBAX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, T. Rowe Price Balanced ( RPBAX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
Want even more information about RPBAX? 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. 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.