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Is Thrivent Large Cap Value Fund S (TLVIX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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Any investors hoping to find a Large Cap Value fund could think about starting with Thrivent Large Cap Value Fund S (TLVIX - Free Report) . TLVIX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

Large Cap Value mutual funds invest in stocks with a market capitalization of $10 billion or more, but whose share prices do not reflect their intrinsic value; this value investing strategy often leads to low P/E ratios and high dividend yields, though growth levels are often curtailed. The high-growth opportunity of these funds are slowed even further, as large-cap securities are generally in stable industries with low to moderate growth prospects. Therefore, Large Cap Value funds are usually more appealing to investors who are interested in a stable income stream.

History of Fund/Manager

TLVIX finds itself in the Thrivent family, based out of Appleton, WI. The Thrivent Large Cap Value Fund S made its debut in December of 1997 and TLVIX has managed to accumulate roughly $893.90 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund's current manager, Kurt J. Lauber, has been in charge of the fund since March of 2013.

Performance

Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 8.13%, 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 9.61%, 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 11.07%, the standard deviation of TLVIX over the past three years is 13.29%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 13.7% compared to the category average of 10.91%. 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. In the most recent bear market, TLVIX lost 50.69% and outperformed its peer group by 0%. This makes the fund a possibly on par 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. TLVIX has a 5-year beta of 1.09, which means it is likely to be more volatile than the market average. 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 negative alpha of -3.28. This means that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick 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 primarily on equities that are traded in the United States.

As of the last filing date, the mutual fund has 93.39% of its assets in stocks, with an average market capitalization of $205.71 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:

  1. Finance
  2. Technology
Turnover is 22%, which means, on average, the fund makes fewer trades than comparable funds.

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, TLVIX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.54% compared to the category average of 1.01%. From a cost perspective, TLVIX is actually cheaper than its peers.

This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $2,000, and each subsequent investment should be at least $50.

Bottom Line

Overall, Thrivent Large Cap Value Fund S ( TLVIX ) 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 TLVIX? 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 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.


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