Looking for a Large Cap Blend fund? You may want to consider ClearBridge Select Fund A (LCLAX Quick QuoteLCLAX - Free Report) as a possible option. While this fund is not tracked by the Zacks Mutual Fund Rank, we were able to examine other factors like performance, volatility, and cost.

Objective

LCLAX is classified in the Large Cap Blend segment by Zacks, which is an area full of potential. Targeting companies with market caps of more than $10 billion, Large Cap Blend mutual funds offer a stable investment choice; these funds are perfect for investors with a " buy and hold " mindset. Since blended funds mix large, more established firms into their portfolios, investors are exposed to both value and growth opportunities.

History of Fund/Manager

Legg Mason is responsible for LCLAX, and the company is based out of Baltimore, MD. The ClearBridge Select Fund A made its debut in September of 2013 and LCLAX has managed to accumulate roughly $164.88 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. Aram E. Green is the fund's current manager and has held that role since September of 2013.

Performance

Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 14.63%, and is 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 24.37%, 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 the fund over the past 5 years is 15.94% compared to the category average of 1.03%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

Investors should always remember the downsides to a potential investment, and this segment carries some risks one should be aware of.

Nevertheless, investors should also note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 1.12, which means it is hypothetically more volatile than the market at large. Alpha is an additional metric to take into consideration, since it represents a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which in this case, is the S&P 500. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a positive alpha of 2.87. This means that managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

Holdings

Examining 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 largely on equities that are traded in the United States.

This fund is currently holding about 78.06% stock in stocks, which have an average market capitalization of $49.02 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:

1. Technology
2. Retail Trade
3. Other

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, LCLAX is a load fund and it has an expense ratio of 1.41%.

Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $1,000; each subsequent investment needs to be at least $50.

Bottom Line

For additional information on this product, or to compare it to other mutual funds in the Large Cap Blend, make sure to go to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for additional information. And don't forget, Zacks has all of your needs covered on the equity side too! Make sure to check out Zacks.com for more information on our screening capabilities, Rank, and all our articles as well.