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Is Columbia Global Technology Growth A (CTCAX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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If investors are looking at the Sector - Tech fund category, Columbia Global Technology Growth A (CTCAX - Free Report) could be a potential option. CTCAX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
The world of Sector - Tech funds is an area filled with options, and CTCAX is one of them. Sector - Tech mutual funds allow investors to own a stake in a notoriously volatile sector with a much more diversified approach. Tech companies can be in any number of industries such as semiconductors, software, internet, networking just to name a few.
History of Fund/Manager
CTCAX is a part of the Columbia family of funds, a company based out of Kansas City, MO. Columbia Global Technology Growth A made its debut in November of 2002, and since then, CTCAX has accumulated about $715.86 million in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. Rahul Narang is the fund's current manager and has held that role since July of 2012.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. CTCAX has a 5-year annualized total return of 20.48% and is 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 9.27%, which places it in the top 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. CTCAX's standard deviation over the past three years is 23.93% compared to the category average of 16.12%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 22.98% compared to the category average of 16.87%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
Investors should note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 1.15, so it is likely going to be more volatile than the market at large. 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. CTCAX's 5-year performance has produced a positive alpha of 4.39, which means managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking 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 principally on equities that are traded in the United States.
As of the last filing date, the mutual fund has 87.47% of its assets in stocks, which have an average market capitalization of $579.82 billion. With turnover at about 7%, this fund is making fewer trades than its comparable peers.
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, CTCAX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.19% compared to the category average of 1.01%. So, CTCAX is actually more expensive than its peers from a cost perspective.
While the minimum initial investment for the product is $2,000, investors should also note that there is no minimum for each subsequent investment.
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 strong performance, worse downside risk, and higher fees, Columbia Global Technology Growth A ( CTCAX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and therefore looks a good potential choice for investors right now.
This could just be the start of your research on CTCAXin the Sector - Tech category. Consider going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for additional information about this fund, and all the others that we rank as well for additional information. Want to learn even more? We have a full suite of tools on stocks that you can use to find the best choices for your portfolio too, no matter what kind of investor you are.
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Is Columbia Global Technology Growth A (CTCAX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
If investors are looking at the Sector - Tech fund category, Columbia Global Technology Growth A (CTCAX - Free Report) could be a potential option. CTCAX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
The world of Sector - Tech funds is an area filled with options, and CTCAX is one of them. Sector - Tech mutual funds allow investors to own a stake in a notoriously volatile sector with a much more diversified approach. Tech companies can be in any number of industries such as semiconductors, software, internet, networking just to name a few.
History of Fund/Manager
CTCAX is a part of the Columbia family of funds, a company based out of Kansas City, MO. Columbia Global Technology Growth A made its debut in November of 2002, and since then, CTCAX has accumulated about $715.86 million in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. Rahul Narang is the fund's current manager and has held that role since July of 2012.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. CTCAX has a 5-year annualized total return of 20.48% and is 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 9.27%, which places it in the top 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. CTCAX's standard deviation over the past three years is 23.93% compared to the category average of 16.12%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 22.98% compared to the category average of 16.87%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
Investors should note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 1.15, so it is likely going to be more volatile than the market at large. 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. CTCAX's 5-year performance has produced a positive alpha of 4.39, which means managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking 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 principally on equities that are traded in the United States.
As of the last filing date, the mutual fund has 87.47% of its assets in stocks, which have an average market capitalization of $579.82 billion. With turnover at about 7%, this fund is making fewer trades than its comparable peers.
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, CTCAX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.19% compared to the category average of 1.01%. So, CTCAX is actually more expensive than its peers from a cost perspective.
While the minimum initial investment for the product is $2,000, investors should also note that there is no minimum for each subsequent investment.
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 strong performance, worse downside risk, and higher fees, Columbia Global Technology Growth A ( CTCAX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and therefore looks a good potential choice for investors right now.
This could just be the start of your research on CTCAXin the Sector - Tech category. Consider going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for additional information about this fund, and all the others that we rank as well for additional information. Want to learn even more? We have a full suite of tools on stocks that you can use to find the best choices for your portfolio too, no matter what kind of investor you are.