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Is JPMorgan Small Cap Growth Fund A (PGSGX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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If investors are looking at the Small Cap Growth fund category, JPMorgan Small Cap Growth Fund A (PGSGX - Free Report) could be a potential option. PGSGX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
PGSGX is one of many different Small Cap Growth funds to choose from. Small Cap Growth mutual funds build portfolios around stocks with markets caps under $2 billion and large growth opportunities. Additionally, these portfolios typically highlight smaller companies in promising markets and industries.
History of Fund/Manager
J.P. Morgan is based in Boston, MA, and is the manager of PGSGX. The JPMorgan Small Cap Growth Fund A made its debut in July of 1991 and PGSGX has managed to accumulate roughly $337 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 9.54%, 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 -10.26%, 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. Over the past three years, PGSGX's standard deviation comes in at 22.54%, compared to the category average of 15.11%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 25.62% compared to the category average of 16.34%. 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. 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. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a negative alpha of -6.32. This means that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
Holdings
Exploring 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.
This fund is currently holding about 87.02% in stocks, and these companies have an average market capitalization of $5.09 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
Technology
Industrial Cyclical
Health
Other
With turnover at about 33%, this fund makes fewer trades than 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, PGSGX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.24% compared to the category average of 0.99%. So, PGSGX is actually more expensive than its peers from a cost perspective.
Investors should also note, that according to our data, the fund does not have any minimum investment requirements.
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, worse downside risk, and higher fees, JPMorgan Small Cap Growth Fund A ( PGSGX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and therefore looks a good potential choice for investors right now.
Don't stop here for your research on Small Cap Growth funds. We also have plenty more on our site in order to help you find the best possible fund for your portfolio. Make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for more information about the world of funds, and feel free to compare PGSGX to its peers as well 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 JPMorgan Small Cap Growth Fund A (PGSGX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
If investors are looking at the Small Cap Growth fund category, JPMorgan Small Cap Growth Fund A (PGSGX - Free Report) could be a potential option. PGSGX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
PGSGX is one of many different Small Cap Growth funds to choose from. Small Cap Growth mutual funds build portfolios around stocks with markets caps under $2 billion and large growth opportunities. Additionally, these portfolios typically highlight smaller companies in promising markets and industries.
History of Fund/Manager
J.P. Morgan is based in Boston, MA, and is the manager of PGSGX. The JPMorgan Small Cap Growth Fund A made its debut in July of 1991 and PGSGX has managed to accumulate roughly $337 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 9.54%, 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 -10.26%, 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. Over the past three years, PGSGX's standard deviation comes in at 22.54%, compared to the category average of 15.11%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 25.62% compared to the category average of 16.34%. 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. 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. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a negative alpha of -6.32. This means that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
Holdings
Exploring 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.
This fund is currently holding about 87.02% in stocks, and these companies have an average market capitalization of $5.09 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
- Technology
- Industrial Cyclical
- Health
- Other
With turnover at about 33%, this fund makes fewer trades than 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, PGSGX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.24% compared to the category average of 0.99%. So, PGSGX is actually more expensive than its peers from a cost perspective.
Investors should also note, that according to our data, the fund does not have any minimum investment requirements.
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, worse downside risk, and higher fees, JPMorgan Small Cap Growth Fund A ( PGSGX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and therefore looks a good potential choice for investors right now.
Don't stop here for your research on Small Cap Growth funds. We also have plenty more on our site in order to help you find the best possible fund for your portfolio. Make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for more information about the world of funds, and feel free to compare PGSGX to its peers as well 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.