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Is Hartford Capital Appreciation A (ITHAX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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If you're looking for a Large Cap Blend fund category, then a potential option is Hartford Capital Appreciation A (ITHAX - Free Report) . ITHAX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
We note that ITHAX is a Large Cap Blend option, an area loaded with different options. More often than not, Large Cap Blend mutual funds invest in companies with a market cap of over $10 billion. Buying stakes in bigger companies offer these funds more stability, and are well-suited for investors with a " buy and hold " mindset. Additionally, blended funds mix large, more established firms into their portfolios, giving investors exposure to value and growth opportunities.
History of Fund/Manager
ITHAX finds itself in the Hartford family, based out of Woodbury, MN. The Hartford Capital Appreciation A made its debut in July of 1996 and ITHAX has managed to accumulate roughly $4.44 billion in assets, as of the most recently available information. Gregg Thomas is the fund's current manager and has held that role since March of 2013.
Performance
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 12.13%, and is in the bottom 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 4.01%, which places it in the bottom third during this time-frame.
It is important to note that the product's returns may not reflect all its expenses. Any fees not reflected would lower the returns. Total returns do not reflect the fund's [%] sale charge. If sales charges were included, total returns would have been lower.
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. ITHAX's standard deviation over the past three years is 17.01% compared to the category average of 14.61%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 18.85% compared to the category average of 15.74%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
With a 5-year beta of 0.99, the fund is likely to be as volatile as 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. ITHAX's 5-year performance has produced a negative alpha of -2.94, which means 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.
The mutual fund currently has 77.66% of its holdings in stocks, which have an average market capitalization of $213.73 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
Technology
Finance
With turnover at about 66%, this fund makes more trades in a given year than the average of comparable funds.
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, ITHAX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.05% compared to the category average of 0.94%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, ITHAX is actually more expensive than 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 $50.
Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Bottom Line
Overall, even with its comparatively weak performance, average downside risk, and higher fees, Hartford Capital Appreciation A ( ITHAX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and therefore looks a somewhat average choice for investors right now.
For additional information on this product, or to compare it to other mutual funds in the Large Cap Blend, make sure to go to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds 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.
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Is Hartford Capital Appreciation A (ITHAX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
If you're looking for a Large Cap Blend fund category, then a potential option is Hartford Capital Appreciation A (ITHAX - Free Report) . ITHAX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
We note that ITHAX is a Large Cap Blend option, an area loaded with different options. More often than not, Large Cap Blend mutual funds invest in companies with a market cap of over $10 billion. Buying stakes in bigger companies offer these funds more stability, and are well-suited for investors with a " buy and hold " mindset. Additionally, blended funds mix large, more established firms into their portfolios, giving investors exposure to value and growth opportunities.
History of Fund/Manager
ITHAX finds itself in the Hartford family, based out of Woodbury, MN. The Hartford Capital Appreciation A made its debut in July of 1996 and ITHAX has managed to accumulate roughly $4.44 billion in assets, as of the most recently available information. Gregg Thomas is the fund's current manager and has held that role since March of 2013.
Performance
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 12.13%, and is in the bottom 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 4.01%, which places it in the bottom third during this time-frame.
It is important to note that the product's returns may not reflect all its expenses. Any fees not reflected would lower the returns. Total returns do not reflect the fund's [%] sale charge. If sales charges were included, total returns would have been lower.
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. ITHAX's standard deviation over the past three years is 17.01% compared to the category average of 14.61%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 18.85% compared to the category average of 15.74%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
With a 5-year beta of 0.99, the fund is likely to be as volatile as 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. ITHAX's 5-year performance has produced a negative alpha of -2.94, which means 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.
The mutual fund currently has 77.66% of its holdings in stocks, which have an average market capitalization of $213.73 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
- Technology
- Finance
With turnover at about 66%, this fund makes more trades in a given year than the average of comparable funds.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, ITHAX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.05% compared to the category average of 0.94%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, ITHAX is actually more expensive than 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 $50.
Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Bottom Line
Overall, even with its comparatively weak performance, average downside risk, and higher fees, Hartford Capital Appreciation A ( ITHAX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and therefore looks a somewhat average choice for investors right now.
For additional information on this product, or to compare it to other mutual funds in the Large Cap Blend, make sure to go to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds 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.