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Is MSIFT Mid Cap Growth Portfolio I (MPEGX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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There are plenty of choices in the Mid Cap Growth category, but where should you start your research? Well, one fund that might be worth investigating is MSIFT Mid Cap Growth Portfolio I (MPEGX - Free Report) . MPEGX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
We note that MPEGX is a Mid Cap Growth fund, and this area is also loaded with many different options. Companies are usually considered growth stocks when they consistently report notable sales and/or earnings growth. Thus, Mid Cap Growth funds pick stocks--usually companies with a market cap between $2 billion and $10 billion--that demonstrate extensive growth opportunities for investors compared to their peers.
History of Fund/Manager
MPEGX finds itself in the MorgStanley family, based out of New York, NY. MSIFT Mid Cap Growth Portfolio I made its debut in March of 1990, and since then, MPEGX has accumulated about $320.18 million in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund's current manager is a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. MPEGX has a 5-year annualized total return of 5.96% and it sits 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 -23.88%, 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, MPEGX's standard deviation comes in at 37.53%, compared to the category average of 15.8%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 36.54% compared to the category average of 16.68%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
The fund has a 5-year beta of 1.29, so investors should note that it is hypothetically more volatile than the market at large. 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. MPEGX has generated a negative alpha over the past five years of -6.72, demonstrating that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
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, MPEGX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.74% compared to the category average of 0.98%. From a cost perspective, MPEGX is actually cheaper than its peers.
Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $1 million and that each subsequent investment has no minimum amount.
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 lower fees, MSIFT Mid Cap Growth Portfolio I ( MPEGX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and therefore looks a great potential choice for investors right now.
For additional information on the Mid Cap Growth area of the mutual fund world, make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds. There, you can see more about the ranking process, and dive even deeper into MPEGX too for additional information. And don't forget, Zacks has all of your needs covered on the equity side too! Make sure to check out Zacks.com for more information on our screening capabilities, Rank, and all our articles as well.
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Is MSIFT Mid Cap Growth Portfolio I (MPEGX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
There are plenty of choices in the Mid Cap Growth category, but where should you start your research? Well, one fund that might be worth investigating is MSIFT Mid Cap Growth Portfolio I (MPEGX - Free Report) . MPEGX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
We note that MPEGX is a Mid Cap Growth fund, and this area is also loaded with many different options. Companies are usually considered growth stocks when they consistently report notable sales and/or earnings growth. Thus, Mid Cap Growth funds pick stocks--usually companies with a market cap between $2 billion and $10 billion--that demonstrate extensive growth opportunities for investors compared to their peers.
History of Fund/Manager
MPEGX finds itself in the MorgStanley family, based out of New York, NY. MSIFT Mid Cap Growth Portfolio I made its debut in March of 1990, and since then, MPEGX has accumulated about $320.18 million in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund's current manager is a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. MPEGX has a 5-year annualized total return of 5.96% and it sits 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 -23.88%, 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, MPEGX's standard deviation comes in at 37.53%, compared to the category average of 15.8%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 36.54% compared to the category average of 16.68%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
The fund has a 5-year beta of 1.29, so investors should note that it is hypothetically more volatile than the market at large. 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. MPEGX has generated a negative alpha over the past five years of -6.72, demonstrating that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
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, MPEGX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.74% compared to the category average of 0.98%. From a cost perspective, MPEGX is actually cheaper than its peers.
Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $1 million and that each subsequent investment has no minimum amount.
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 lower fees, MSIFT Mid Cap Growth Portfolio I ( MPEGX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and therefore looks a great potential choice for investors right now.
For additional information on the Mid Cap Growth area of the mutual fund world, make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds. There, you can see more about the ranking process, and dive even deeper into MPEGX too for additional information. And don't forget, Zacks has all of your needs covered on the equity side too! Make sure to check out Zacks.com for more information on our screening capabilities, Rank, and all our articles as well.