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Is JPMorgan Large Cap Growth A (OLGAX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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Large Cap Growth fund seekers should consider taking a look at JPMorgan Large Cap Growth A (OLGAX - Free Report) . OLGAX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

OLGAX is classified in the Large Cap Growth segment by Zacks, an area full of possibilities. Companies are usually considered to be large-cap if their stock market valuation is more than $10 billion. Large Cap Growth mutual funds invest in many large U.S. firms that are projected to grow at a faster rate than their large-cap peers.

History of Fund/Manager

J.P. Morgan is based in Boston, MA, and is the manager of OLGAX. JPMorgan Large Cap Growth A debuted in February of 1994. Since then, OLGAX has accumulated assets of about $2.83 billion, according to the most recently available information. Giri K Devulapally is the fund's current manager and has held that role since August of 2004.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 17.48%, and is in the middle 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 16.95%, 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. Over the past three years, OLGAX's standard deviation comes in at 13.27%, compared to the category average of 9.07%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 12.17% compared to the category average of 10.92%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

Investors cannot discount the risks to this segment though, as it is always important to remember the downside for any potential investment. In OLGAX's case, the fund lost 47.74% in the most recent bear market and outperformed its peer group by 1.15%. This could mean that the fund is a better choice than comparable funds during a bear market.

Nevertheless, investors should also note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 1.07, which means it is hypothetically more volatile than 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. OLGAX has generated a positive alpha over the past five years of 0.66, demonstrating that managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

Holdings

Investigating 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 primarily on equities that are traded in the United States.

As of the last filing date, the mutual fund has 92.89% of its assets in stocks, with an average market capitalization of $202.83 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:

  1. Technology
  2. Finance

Turnover is about 22%, so those in charge of the fund make fewer trades than the average comparable fund.

Expenses

As competition heats up in the mutual fund market, costs become increasingly important. Compared to its otherwise identical counterpart, a low-cost product will be an outperformer, all other things being equal. Thus, taking a closer look at cost-related metrics is vital for investors. In terms of fees, OLGAX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.05% compared to the category average of 1.12%. From a cost perspective, OLGAX is actually cheaper than its peers.

Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $1,000; each subsequent investment needs to be at least $50.

Bottom Line

Overall, JPMorgan Large Cap Growth A as a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, JPMorgan Large Cap Growth A looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.

This could just be the start of your research on OLGAXin the Large Cap Growth 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 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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