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Is Columbia Large Cap Enhanced Core A (NMIAX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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Any investors hoping to find a Large Cap Blend fund could think about starting with Columbia Large Cap Enhanced Core A (NMIAX - Free Report) . NMIAX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
NMIAX is classified in the Large Cap Blend segment by Zacks, which is an area full of potential. Targeting companies with market caps of more than $10 billion, Large Cap Blend mutual funds offer a stable investment choice; these funds are perfect for investors with a " buy and hold " mindset. Since blended funds mix large, more established firms into their portfolios, investors are exposed to both value and growth opportunities.
History of Fund/Manager
NMIAX finds itself in the Columbia family, based out of Boston, MA. Columbia Large Cap Enhanced Core A debuted in July of 1996. Since then, NMIAX has accumulated assets of about $66.71 million, according to the most recently available information. Brian M. Condon is the fund's current manager and has held that role since February of 2009.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 11.27%, 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 11.14%, 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 8.89%, the standard deviation of NMIAX over the past three years is 9.7%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 10.35% compared to the category average of 9.11%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
One cannot ignore the volatility of this segment, however, as it is always important for investors to remember the downside to any potential investment. NMIAX lost 50.89% in the most recent bear market and underperformed its peer group by 1.29%. This makes the fund a possibly worse choice than its peers during a sliding market environment.
Even still, the fund has a 5-year beta of 1.02, so investors should note that it is hypothetically as volatile as the market at large. Because alpha represents a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which is the S&P 500 in this case, one should pay attention to this metric as well. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a negative alpha of -0.22. This means that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick 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 76.3% of its assets in stocks, with an average market capitalization of $223.85 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
Technology
Finance
Turnover is 70%, which means, on average, the fund makes more trades in a given year than the category average.
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, NMIAX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.89% compared to the category average of 0.98%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, NMIAX is actually cheaper than its peers.
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 Large Cap Enhanced Core A ( NMIAX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Columbia Large Cap Enhanced Core A ( NMIAX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
Want even more information about NMIAX? 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 Columbia Large Cap Enhanced Core A (NMIAX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
Any investors hoping to find a Large Cap Blend fund could think about starting with Columbia Large Cap Enhanced Core A (NMIAX - Free Report) . NMIAX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
NMIAX is classified in the Large Cap Blend segment by Zacks, which is an area full of potential. Targeting companies with market caps of more than $10 billion, Large Cap Blend mutual funds offer a stable investment choice; these funds are perfect for investors with a " buy and hold " mindset. Since blended funds mix large, more established firms into their portfolios, investors are exposed to both value and growth opportunities.
History of Fund/Manager
NMIAX finds itself in the Columbia family, based out of Boston, MA. Columbia Large Cap Enhanced Core A debuted in July of 1996. Since then, NMIAX has accumulated assets of about $66.71 million, according to the most recently available information. Brian M. Condon is the fund's current manager and has held that role since February of 2009.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 11.27%, 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 11.14%, 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 8.89%, the standard deviation of NMIAX over the past three years is 9.7%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 10.35% compared to the category average of 9.11%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
One cannot ignore the volatility of this segment, however, as it is always important for investors to remember the downside to any potential investment. NMIAX lost 50.89% in the most recent bear market and underperformed its peer group by 1.29%. This makes the fund a possibly worse choice than its peers during a sliding market environment.
Even still, the fund has a 5-year beta of 1.02, so investors should note that it is hypothetically as volatile as the market at large. Because alpha represents a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which is the S&P 500 in this case, one should pay attention to this metric as well. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a negative alpha of -0.22. This means that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick 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 76.3% of its assets in stocks, with an average market capitalization of $223.85 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
- Technology
- Finance
Turnover is 70%, which means, on average, the fund makes more trades in a given year than the category average.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, NMIAX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.89% compared to the category average of 0.98%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, NMIAX is actually cheaper than its peers.
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 Large Cap Enhanced Core A ( NMIAX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Columbia Large Cap Enhanced Core A ( NMIAX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
Want even more information about NMIAX? 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.