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Is T. Rowe Price Spectrum Growth (PRSGX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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Having trouble finding an Allocation Balanced fund? Well, T. Rowe Price Spectrum Growth (PRSGX - Free Report) would not be a good potential starting point right now. PRSGX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 4 (Sell), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

The world of Zacks' Allocation Balanced funds is an area filled with options, such as PRSGX. These funds like to invest in a variety of asset types, finding a balance between stocks, bonds, cash, and sometimes even precious metals and commodities; they are mostly categorized by their respective asset allocation. For investors, Allocation Balanced funds can provide an entry point into diversified mutual funds, and present core holding options for a portfolio of funds.

History of Fund/Manager

T. Rowe Price is based in Baltimore, MD, and is the manager of PRSGX. T. Rowe Price Spectrum Growth made its debut in June of 1990, and since then, PRSGX has accumulated about $3.80 billion in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund is currently managed by Charles M. Shriver who has been in charge of the fund since May of 2011.

Performance

Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 8.18%, and is 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 13.07%, 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. PRSGX's standard deviation over the past three years is 11.14% compared to the category average of -36.4%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 11.41% compared to the category average of -0.16%. 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. PRSGX lost 52.8% in the most recent bear market and outperformed its peer group by 10%. This makes the fund a possibly better choice than its peers during a sliding market environment.

Investors should note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 0.97, so it is likely going to be 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. PRSGX's 5-year performance has produced a negative alpha of -2.17, which means managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

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, PRSGX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.77% compared to the category average of -52.80%. PRSGX is actually more expensive than its peers when you consider factors like cost.

Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $2,500 and that each subsequent investment needs to be at $100.

Bottom Line

Overall, T. Rowe Price Spectrum Growth ( PRSGX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, strong performance, worse downside risk, and higher fees compared to its peers.

For additional information on this product, or to compare it to other mutual funds in the Allocation Balanced, make sure to go to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for additional information. And don't forget, Zacks has all of your needs covered on the equity side too! Make sure to check out Zacks.com for more information on our screening capabilities, Rank, and all our articles as well.


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