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Is Laudus US Large Cap Growth (LGILX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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Having trouble finding a Large Cap Growth fund? Laudus US Large Cap Growth (LGILX - Free Report) is a potential starting point. LGILX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
LGILX is classified in the Large Cap Growth segment by Zacks, an area full of possibilities. Companies are usually considered to be large-cap if their stock market valuation is more than $10 billion. Large Cap Growth mutual funds invest in many large U.S. firms that are projected to grow at a faster rate than their large-cap peers.
History of Fund/Manager
Laudus is based in Boston, MA, and is the manager of LGILX. Since Laudus US Large Cap Growth made its debut in July of 2009, LGILX has garnered more than $2.25 billion in assets. Lawrence G. Kemp is the fund's current manager and has held that role since October of 2013.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 14.75%, 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 19.12%, 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 13.54%, the standard deviation of LGILX over the past three years is 14.14%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 14.16% compared to the category average of 13.3%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
Investors cannot discount the risks to this segment though, as it is always important to remember the downside for any potential investment.
Investors should note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 1.08, so it is likely going to be more volatile than the market at large. 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. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a positive alpha of 2.48. This means that managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
Holdings
Exploring 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.
Right now, 95.26% of this mutual fund's holdings are stocks, with an average market capitalization of $182.31 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
Technology
Retail Trade
Turnover is 53%, which means this fund makes fewer trades than the average comparable fund.
Expenses
For investors, taking a closer look at cost-related metrics is key, since costs are increasingly important for mutual fund investing. Competition is heating up in this space, and a lower cost product will likely outperform its otherwise identical counterpart, all things being equal. In terms of fees, LGILX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.75% compared to the category average of 1.05%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, LGILX is actually cheaper than its peers.
Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $0 and that each subsequent investment has no minimum amount.
Bottom Line
Overall, Laudus US Large Cap Growth ( LGILX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Laudus US Large Cap Growth ( LGILX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
For additional information on this product, or to compare it to other mutual funds in the Large Cap Growth, make sure to go to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds 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 Laudus US Large Cap Growth (LGILX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
Having trouble finding a Large Cap Growth fund? Laudus US Large Cap Growth (LGILX - Free Report) is a potential starting point. LGILX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
LGILX is classified in the Large Cap Growth segment by Zacks, an area full of possibilities. Companies are usually considered to be large-cap if their stock market valuation is more than $10 billion. Large Cap Growth mutual funds invest in many large U.S. firms that are projected to grow at a faster rate than their large-cap peers.
History of Fund/Manager
Laudus is based in Boston, MA, and is the manager of LGILX. Since Laudus US Large Cap Growth made its debut in July of 2009, LGILX has garnered more than $2.25 billion in assets. Lawrence G. Kemp is the fund's current manager and has held that role since October of 2013.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 14.75%, 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 19.12%, 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 13.54%, the standard deviation of LGILX over the past three years is 14.14%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 14.16% compared to the category average of 13.3%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
Investors cannot discount the risks to this segment though, as it is always important to remember the downside for any potential investment.
Investors should note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 1.08, so it is likely going to be more volatile than the market at large. 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. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a positive alpha of 2.48. This means that managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
Holdings
Exploring 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.
Right now, 95.26% of this mutual fund's holdings are stocks, with an average market capitalization of $182.31 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
- Technology
- Retail Trade
Turnover is 53%, which means this fund makes fewer trades than the average comparable fund.Expenses
For investors, taking a closer look at cost-related metrics is key, since costs are increasingly important for mutual fund investing. Competition is heating up in this space, and a lower cost product will likely outperform its otherwise identical counterpart, all things being equal. In terms of fees, LGILX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.75% compared to the category average of 1.05%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, LGILX is actually cheaper than its peers.
Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $0 and that each subsequent investment has no minimum amount.
Bottom Line
Overall, Laudus US Large Cap Growth ( LGILX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Laudus US Large Cap Growth ( LGILX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
For additional information on this product, or to compare it to other mutual funds in the Large Cap Growth, make sure to go to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds 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.