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Is Loomis Sayles Growth Fund A (LGRRX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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Any investors hoping to find a Large Cap Growth fund could think about starting with Loomis Sayles Growth Fund A (LGRRX - Free Report) . LGRRX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
LGRRX is part of the Large Cap Growth section, and this segment boasts an array of other possible options. Large Cap Growth mutual funds purchase stakes in numerous large U.S. companies that are expected to develop and grow at a faster rate than other large-cap stocks. Companies are usually considered to be large-cap if their market capitalization is over $10 billion.
History of Fund/Manager
Loomis, Sayles & Company, the fund's manager, is based in Boston, MA and has $261.3 billion in assets under management. The Loomis Sayles Growth Fund made its debut in May of 1991 under a different portfolio management team. Aziz V. Hamzaogullari took over the fund in 2010. The fund currently has $7.8 billion in net assets, as of November 30, 2017.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 18.66%, and is in the top third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 15.28%, 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. Compared to the category average of 9.37%, the standard deviation of LGRRX over the past three years is 11.98%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 10.99% compared to the category average of 10.91%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
Investors should always remember the downsides to a potential investment, and this segment carries some risks one should be aware of. LGRRX lost 54.96% in the most recent bear market and underperformed its peer group by 6.08%. These results could imply that the fund is a worse choice than its peers during a sliding market environment.
Nevertheless, investors should also note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 1.03, which means it is hypothetically as volatile as the market at large. Another factor to consider is alpha, as it reflects a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark-in this case, the S&P 500. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a positive alpha of 2.78. This means that 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.
Currently, this mutual fund is holding 97.96% stock in stocks, which have an average market capitalization of $215.29 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
Technology
Industrial Cyclical
Non-Durable
This fund's turnover is about 14%, so the fund managers are making 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, LGRRX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.92% compared to the category average of 1.14%. From a cost perspective, LGRRX is actually cheaper than its peers.
This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $2,500, and each subsequent investment should be at least $100.
Bottom Line
Overall, Loomis Sayles Growth Fund A LGRRX 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.
Want even more information about LGRRX? Then go over to Zacks.com and check out our mutual fund comparison tool, and all of the other great features that we have to help you with your mutual fund analysis for additional information. If you want to check out our stock reports as well, make sure to go to Zacks.com to see all of the great tools we have to offer, including our time-tested Zacks Rank.
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Is Loomis Sayles Growth Fund A (LGRRX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
Any investors hoping to find a Large Cap Growth fund could think about starting with Loomis Sayles Growth Fund A (LGRRX - Free Report) . LGRRX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
LGRRX is part of the Large Cap Growth section, and this segment boasts an array of other possible options. Large Cap Growth mutual funds purchase stakes in numerous large U.S. companies that are expected to develop and grow at a faster rate than other large-cap stocks. Companies are usually considered to be large-cap if their market capitalization is over $10 billion.
History of Fund/Manager
Loomis, Sayles & Company, the fund's manager, is based in Boston, MA and has $261.3 billion in assets under management. The Loomis Sayles Growth Fund made its debut in May of 1991 under a different portfolio management team. Aziz V. Hamzaogullari took over the fund in 2010. The fund currently has $7.8 billion in net assets, as of November 30, 2017.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 18.66%, and is in the top third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 15.28%, 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. Compared to the category average of 9.37%, the standard deviation of LGRRX over the past three years is 11.98%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 10.99% compared to the category average of 10.91%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
Investors should always remember the downsides to a potential investment, and this segment carries some risks one should be aware of. LGRRX lost 54.96% in the most recent bear market and underperformed its peer group by 6.08%. These results could imply that the fund is a worse choice than its peers during a sliding market environment.
Nevertheless, investors should also note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 1.03, which means it is hypothetically as volatile as the market at large. Another factor to consider is alpha, as it reflects a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark-in this case, the S&P 500. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a positive alpha of 2.78. This means that 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.
Currently, this mutual fund is holding 97.96% stock in stocks, which have an average market capitalization of $215.29 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
This fund's turnover is about 14%, so the fund managers are making 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, LGRRX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.92% compared to the category average of 1.14%. From a cost perspective, LGRRX is actually cheaper than its peers.
This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $2,500, and each subsequent investment should be at least $100.
Bottom Line
Overall, Loomis Sayles Growth Fund A LGRRX 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.
Want even more information about LGRRX? Then go over to Zacks.com and check out our mutual fund comparison tool, and all of the other great features that we have to help you with your mutual fund analysis for additional information. If you want to check out our stock reports as well, make sure to go to Zacks.com to see all of the great tools we have to offer, including our time-tested Zacks Rank.