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Is Hartford Growth Opportunities A (HGOAX) 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 Hartford Growth Opportunities A (HGOAX - Free Report) . HGOAX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
HGOAX is part of the Mid Cap Growth section, a segment that boasts a wide array of possible selections. While Mid Cap Growth mutual funds choose companies with a stock market valuation between $2 billion and $10 billion, stocks in these funds are also expected to show broad considerable growth opportunities for investors compared to their peers. To be considered a growth stock, companies must consistently report impressive sales and/or earnings growth.
History of Fund/Manager
Hartford is based in Woodbury, MN, and is the manager of HGOAX. The Hartford Growth Opportunities A made its debut in March of 1963 and HGOAX has managed to accumulate roughly $2.15 billion in assets, as of the most recently available information. A team of investment professionals is the fund's current manager.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 14.06%, 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 17.94%, 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 9.38%, the standard deviation of HGOAX over the past three years is 15.2%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 14.86% compared to the category average of 9.72%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
It's always important to be aware of the downsides to any future investment, so one should not discount the risks that come with this segment. In the most recent bear market, HGOAX lost 55.28% and underperformed its peer group by 3.82%. This means that the fund could possibly be a worse choice than its peers during a down market environment.
Investors should note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 1.17, so it is likely going to be more volatile than 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. With a positive alpha of 1.57, 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 mostly on equities that are traded in the United States.
This fund is currently holding about 75.62% stock in stocks, and these companies have an average market capitalization of $105.49 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
Technology
Retail Trade
Health
Services
This fund's turnover is about 122%, so the fund managers are making more trades per year than the comparable average.
Expenses
Costs are increasingly important for mutual fund investing, and particularly as competition heats up in this market. And all things being equal, a lower cost product will outperform its otherwise identical counterpart, so taking a closer look at these metrics is key for investors. In terms of fees, HGOAX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.11% compared to the category average of 1.18%. From a cost perspective, HGOAX is actually cheaper than its peers.
Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $2,000 and that each subsequent investment needs to be at $50.
Bottom Line
Overall, Hartford Growth Opportunities A ( HGOAX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, strong performance, worse downside risk, and lower fees compared to its peers.
Your research on the Mid Cap Growth segment doesn't have to stop here. You can check out all the great mutual fund tools we have to offer by going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds to see the additional features we offer as well 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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Is Hartford Growth Opportunities A (HGOAX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
If you have been looking for Mid Cap Growth funds, a place to start could be Hartford Growth Opportunities A (HGOAX - Free Report) . HGOAX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
HGOAX is part of the Mid Cap Growth section, a segment that boasts a wide array of possible selections. While Mid Cap Growth mutual funds choose companies with a stock market valuation between $2 billion and $10 billion, stocks in these funds are also expected to show broad considerable growth opportunities for investors compared to their peers. To be considered a growth stock, companies must consistently report impressive sales and/or earnings growth.
History of Fund/Manager
Hartford is based in Woodbury, MN, and is the manager of HGOAX. The Hartford Growth Opportunities A made its debut in March of 1963 and HGOAX has managed to accumulate roughly $2.15 billion in assets, as of the most recently available information. A team of investment professionals is the fund's current manager.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 14.06%, 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 17.94%, 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 9.38%, the standard deviation of HGOAX over the past three years is 15.2%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 14.86% compared to the category average of 9.72%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
It's always important to be aware of the downsides to any future investment, so one should not discount the risks that come with this segment. In the most recent bear market, HGOAX lost 55.28% and underperformed its peer group by 3.82%. This means that the fund could possibly be a worse choice than its peers during a down market environment.
Investors should note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 1.17, so it is likely going to be more volatile than 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. With a positive alpha of 1.57, 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 mostly on equities that are traded in the United States.
This fund is currently holding about 75.62% stock in stocks, and these companies have an average market capitalization of $105.49 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
- Technology
- Retail Trade
- Health
- Services
This fund's turnover is about 122%, so the fund managers are making more trades per year than the comparable average.Expenses
Costs are increasingly important for mutual fund investing, and particularly as competition heats up in this market. And all things being equal, a lower cost product will outperform its otherwise identical counterpart, so taking a closer look at these metrics is key for investors. In terms of fees, HGOAX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.11% compared to the category average of 1.18%. From a cost perspective, HGOAX is actually cheaper than its peers.
Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $2,000 and that each subsequent investment needs to be at $50.
Bottom Line
Overall, Hartford Growth Opportunities A ( HGOAX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, strong performance, worse downside risk, and lower fees compared to its peers.
Your research on the Mid Cap Growth segment doesn't have to stop here. You can check out all the great mutual fund tools we have to offer by going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds to see the additional features we offer as well 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.