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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 investors are looking at the Mid Cap Growth fund category, T. Rowe Price Mid-Cap Growth Adviser (PAMCX - Free Report) could be a potential option. PAMCX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong 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 responsible for PAMCX, and the company is based out of Baltimore, MD. Since T. Rowe Price Mid-Cap Growth Adviser made its debut in June of 1992, PAMCX has garnered more than $782 million in assets. Brian W H Berghuis is the fund's current manager and has held that role since June of 1992.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 12.87%, and it sits in the top third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 14.57%, 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. The standard deviation of PAMCX over the past three years is 12.85% compared to the category average of 10.94%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 12.63% compared to the category average of 10.81%. 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 PAMCX's case, the fund lost 48.36% in the most recent bear market and outperformed its peer group by 3%. These results could imply that the fund is a better choice than its peers during a sliding market environment.

Investors should not forget about beta, an important way to measure a mutual fund's risk compared to the market as a whole. PAMCX has a 5-year beta of 0.99, which means it is likely to be as volatile as the market average. 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. PAMCX's 5-year performance has produced a positive alpha of 2.03, which means managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

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, PAMCX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.01% compared to the category average of 1.22%. PAMCX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.

While the minimum initial investment for the product is $0, investors should also note that 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, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.

Want even more information about PAMCX? Then go over to Zacks.com and check out our mutual fund comparison tool, and all of the other great features that we have to help you with your mutual fund analysis 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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