Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Is CGM Focus Fund (CGMFX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

Read MoreHide Full Article

Large Cap Blend fund seekers should not consider taking a look at CGM Focus Fund at this time. CGMFX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 4 (Sell), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

CGMFX 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

CGM is based in Boston, MA, and is the manager of CGMFX. CGM Focus Fund made its debut in September of 1997, and since then, CGMFX has accumulated about $650.20 million in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund's current manager, Ken Heebner, has been in charge of the fund since September of 1997.

Performance

Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of -2.13%, and is in the bottom 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 -0.8%, which places it in the bottom 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. Over the past three years, CGMFX's standard deviation comes in at 18.18%, compared to the category average of 12.31%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 19.32% compared to the category average of 12.09%. 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. In the most recent bear market, CGMFX lost 58.01% and underperformed comparable funds by 8%. This means that the fund could possibly be a worse choice than its peers during a down market environment.

Nevertheless, with a 5-year beta of 1.01, the fund 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. CGMFX has generated a negative alpha over the past five years of -10.82, demonstrating that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

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, CGMFX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.18% compared to the category average of 1.03%. CGMFX is actually more expensive than its peers when you consider factors like cost.

Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $2,500 and that each subsequent investment needs to be at $50.

Bottom Line

Overall, CGM Focus Fund ( CGMFX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, worse downside risk, and higher fees, CGM Focus Fund ( CGMFX ) looks like a somewhat weak choice for investors right now.

Your research on the Large Cap Blend 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.

Published in