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Is T. Rowe Price Mid-Cap Growth Adviser (PAMCX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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If you have been looking for Mid Cap Growth funds, a place to start could be T. Rowe Price Mid-Cap Growth Adviser (PAMCX - Free Report) . PAMCX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

We note that PAMCX is a Mid Cap Growth fund, and this area is also loaded with many different options. Companies are usually considered growth stocks when they consistently report notable sales and/or earnings growth. Thus, Mid Cap Growth funds pick stocks--usually companies with a market cap between $2 billion and $10 billion--that demonstrate extensive growth opportunities for investors compared to their peers.

History of Fund/Manager

T. Rowe Price is based in Baltimore, MD, and is the manager of PAMCX. The T. Rowe Price Mid-Cap Growth Adviser made its debut in June of 1992 and PAMCX has managed to accumulate roughly $681 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. Brian W. H. Berghuis is the fund's current manager and has held that role since June of 1992.

Performance

Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. PAMCX has a 5-year annualized total return of 11.83% 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 14.62%, which places it in the middle 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, PAMCX's standard deviation comes in at 11.78%, compared to the category average of 10.02%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 12.27% compared to the category average of 10.33%. 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. In the most recent bear market, PAMCX lost 48.36% and outperformed its peer group by 3.1%. This could mean that the fund is a better choice than comparable funds during a bear market.

Nevertheless, with a 5-year beta of 1.02, the fund is likely to be as volatile as the market average. 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. The fund has produced a positive alpha over the past 5 years of 0.8, which shows 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.

This fund is currently holding about 94.69% stock in stocks, and these companies have an average market capitalization of $14.68 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:

  1. Technology
  2. Other
  3. Industrial Cyclical
Turnover is about 25.2%, 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, PAMCX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.02% compared to the category average of 1.18%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, PAMCX is actually cheaper than its peers.

This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $0, while there is no minimum for each subsequent investment.

Bottom Line

Overall, T. Rowe Price Mid-Cap Growth Adviser ( PAMCX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees compared to its peers.

For additional information on this product, or to compare it to other mutual funds in the Mid Cap Growth, make sure to go to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for additional information. If you are more of a stock investor, make sure to also check out our Zacks Rank, and our full suite of tools we have available for novice and professional investors alike.


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