We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience. This includes personalizing content and advertising. To learn more, click here. By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies, revised Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.
You are being directed to ZacksTrade, a division of LBMZ Securities and licensed broker-dealer. ZacksTrade and Zacks.com are separate companies. The web link between the two companies is not a solicitation or offer to invest in a particular security or type of security. ZacksTrade does not endorse or adopt any particular investment strategy, any analyst opinion/rating/report or any approach to evaluating individual securities.
If you wish to go to ZacksTrade, click OK. If you do not, click Cancel.
Is T. Rowe Price Global Technology (PRGTX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
Read MoreHide Full Article
Any investors hoping to find a Sector - Tech fund could think about starting with T. Rowe Price Global Technology (PRGTX - Free Report) . PRGTX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
PRGTX is part of the Sector - Tech category, which boasts an array of different possible selections. With a much more diversified approach, Sector - Tech mutual funds give investors a way to own a stake in a notoriously risky sector. Tech companies are in various industries like semiconductors, software, internet, and networking, among others.
History of Fund/Manager
T. Rowe Price is based in Baltimore, MD, and is the manager of PRGTX. Since T. Rowe Price Global Technology made its debut in September of 2000, PRGTX has garnered more than $3.76 billion in assets. The fund is currently managed by Alan Tu who has been in charge of the fund since March of 2019.
Performance
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. PRGTX has a 5-year annualized total return of 17.64% 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 17.36%, 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 PRGTX over the past three years is 19.67% compared to the category average of 12.39%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 18.61% compared to the category average of 12.75%. 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. PRGTX lost 52.96% in the most recent bear market and outperformed its peer group by 0.36%. This might suggest that the fund is a better choice than its peers during a bear market.
Nevertheless, investors should also note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 1.29, which means it is hypothetically 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. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a positive alpha of 5.6. This means that managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking 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, PRGTX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.91% compared to the category average of 1.31%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, PRGTX is actually cheaper than its peers.
Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $2,500; each subsequent investment needs to be at least $100.
Bottom Line
Overall, T. Rowe Price Global Technology ( PRGTX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, strong performance, worse downside risk, and lower fees compared to its peers.
For additional information on the Sector - Tech area of the mutual fund world, make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds. There, you can see more about the ranking process, and dive even deeper into PRGTX too for additional information. For analysis of the rest of your portfolio, make sure to visit Zacks.com for our full suite of tools which will help you investigate all of your stocks and funds in one place.
See More Zacks Research for These Tickers
Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:
Image: Bigstock
Is T. Rowe Price Global Technology (PRGTX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
Any investors hoping to find a Sector - Tech fund could think about starting with T. Rowe Price Global Technology (PRGTX - Free Report) . PRGTX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
PRGTX is part of the Sector - Tech category, which boasts an array of different possible selections. With a much more diversified approach, Sector - Tech mutual funds give investors a way to own a stake in a notoriously risky sector. Tech companies are in various industries like semiconductors, software, internet, and networking, among others.
History of Fund/Manager
T. Rowe Price is based in Baltimore, MD, and is the manager of PRGTX. Since T. Rowe Price Global Technology made its debut in September of 2000, PRGTX has garnered more than $3.76 billion in assets. The fund is currently managed by Alan Tu who has been in charge of the fund since March of 2019.
Performance
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. PRGTX has a 5-year annualized total return of 17.64% 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 17.36%, 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 PRGTX over the past three years is 19.67% compared to the category average of 12.39%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 18.61% compared to the category average of 12.75%. 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. PRGTX lost 52.96% in the most recent bear market and outperformed its peer group by 0.36%. This might suggest that the fund is a better choice than its peers during a bear market.
Nevertheless, investors should also note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 1.29, which means it is hypothetically 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. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a positive alpha of 5.6. This means that managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking 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, PRGTX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.91% compared to the category average of 1.31%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, PRGTX is actually cheaper than its peers.
Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $2,500; each subsequent investment needs to be at least $100.
Bottom Line
Overall, T. Rowe Price Global Technology ( PRGTX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, strong performance, worse downside risk, and lower fees compared to its peers.
For additional information on the Sector - Tech area of the mutual fund world, make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds. There, you can see more about the ranking process, and dive even deeper into PRGTX too for additional information. For analysis of the rest of your portfolio, make sure to visit Zacks.com for our full suite of tools which will help you investigate all of your stocks and funds in one place.