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Is T. Rowe Price Instl Large Cap Core (TPLGX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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There are plenty of choices in the Large Cap Blend category, but where should you start your research? Well, one fund that might be worth investigating is T. Rowe Price Instl Large Cap Core (TPLGX - Free Report) . TPLGX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

TPLGX is part of the Large Cap Blend section, an area that boasts an array of many possible options. Large Cap Blend mutual funds most often invest in firms with a market capitalization of $10 billion or more. By investing in bigger companies, these funds offer more stability, and are often well-suited for investors with a "buy and hold " mindset. Blended funds mix large, established companies into their holdings, which gives investors exposure to both value and growth at the same time.

History of Fund/Manager

T. Rowe Price is based in Baltimore, MD, and is the manager of TPLGX. The T. Rowe Price Instl Large Cap Core made its debut in October of 2003 and TPLGX has managed to accumulate roughly $2.80 billion in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by Larry J. Puglia who has been in charge of the fund since October of 2003.

Performance

Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 19.04%, and it sits 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 14.93%, which places it in the top 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. TPLGX's standard deviation over the past three years is 12.27% compared to the category average of 10.51%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 11.64% compared to the category average of 9.86%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

It's always important to be aware of the downsides to any future investment, so one should not discount the risks that come with this segment. TPLGX lost 51.61% in the most recent bear market and underperformed comparable funds by 2.04%. This makes the fund a possibly worse choice than its peers during a sliding market environment.

Investors should not forget about beta, an important way to measure a mutual fund's risk compared to the market as a whole. TPLGX has a 5-year beta of 1.05, which means it is likely to be more 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. TPLGX has generated a positive alpha over the past five years of 2.91, demonstrating that managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking 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 largely on equities that are traded in the United States.

This fund is currently holding about 98.37% stock in stocks, which have an average market capitalization of $204.79 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:

 

  1. Technology
  2. Finance

Turnover is about 42%, so those in charge of the fund make fewer trades than its comparable peers.

Expenses

For investors, taking a closer look at cost-related metrics is key, since costs are increasingly important for mutual fund investing. Competition is heating up in this space, and a lower cost product will likely outperform its otherwise identical counterpart, all things being equal. In terms of fees, TPLGX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.57% compared to the category average of 1.03%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, TPLGX 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.

Bottom Line

Overall, T. Rowe Price Instl Large Cap Core TPLGX has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.

This could just be the start of your research on TPLGX in the Large Cap Blend 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. If you are more of a stock investor, make sure to also check out our Zacks Rank, and our full suite of tools we have available for novice and professional investors alike.


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