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Is Columbia Global Technology Growth Z (CMTFX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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On the lookout for a Sector - Tech fund? Starting with Columbia Global Technology Growth Z (CMTFX - Free Report) is one possibility. CMTFX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
The world of Sector - Tech funds is an area filled with options, and CMTFX 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
Columbia is based in Boston, MA, and is the manager of CMTFX. Columbia Global Technology Growth Z debuted in November of 2000. Since then, CMTFX has accumulated assets of about $512.07 million, according to the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by Rahul Narang who has been in charge of the fund since July of 2012.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. CMTFX has a 5-year annualized total return of 26.16% and it sits in the top 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 26.02%, 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. The standard deviation of CMTFX over the past three years is 14.24% compared to the category average of 10.06%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 13.18% compared to the category average of 9.67%. 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. CMTFX lost 56.83% in the most recent bear market and underperformed its peer group by 3.9%. This means that the fund could possibly be a worse choice than its peers during a down market environment.
Nevertheless, investors should also note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 1.08, 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. CMTFX has generated a positive alpha over the past five years of 8.06, 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 primarily on equities that are traded in the United States.
Right now, 85.03% of this mutual fund's holdings are stocks, and these companies have an average market capitalization of $233.81 billion. With turnover at about 40%, this fund makes fewer trades than comparable funds.
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, CMTFX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.07% compared to the category average of 1.28%. CMTFX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.
Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $2,000; each subsequent investment has no minimum amount.
Bottom Line
Overall, Columbia Global Technology Growth Z 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.
Don't stop here for your research on Sector - Tech funds. We also have plenty more on our site in order to help you find the best possible fund for your portfolio. Make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for more information about the world of funds, and feel free to compare CMTFX to its peers 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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Is Columbia Global Technology Growth Z (CMTFX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
On the lookout for a Sector - Tech fund? Starting with Columbia Global Technology Growth Z (CMTFX - Free Report) is one possibility. CMTFX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
The world of Sector - Tech funds is an area filled with options, and CMTFX 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
Columbia is based in Boston, MA, and is the manager of CMTFX. Columbia Global Technology Growth Z debuted in November of 2000. Since then, CMTFX has accumulated assets of about $512.07 million, according to the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by Rahul Narang who has been in charge of the fund since July of 2012.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. CMTFX has a 5-year annualized total return of 26.16% and it sits in the top 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 26.02%, 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. The standard deviation of CMTFX over the past three years is 14.24% compared to the category average of 10.06%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 13.18% compared to the category average of 9.67%. 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. CMTFX lost 56.83% in the most recent bear market and underperformed its peer group by 3.9%. This means that the fund could possibly be a worse choice than its peers during a down market environment.
Nevertheless, investors should also note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 1.08, 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. CMTFX has generated a positive alpha over the past five years of 8.06, 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 primarily on equities that are traded in the United States.
Right now, 85.03% of this mutual fund's holdings are stocks, and these companies have an average market capitalization of $233.81 billion. With turnover at about 40%, this fund makes fewer trades than comparable funds.
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, CMTFX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.07% compared to the category average of 1.28%. CMTFX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.
Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $2,000; each subsequent investment has no minimum amount.
Bottom Line
Overall, Columbia Global Technology Growth Z 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.
Don't stop here for your research on Sector - Tech funds. We also have plenty more on our site in order to help you find the best possible fund for your portfolio. Make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for more information about the world of funds, and feel free to compare CMTFX to its peers 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.