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Is MSIFT Mid Cap Growth Portfolio I (MPEGX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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If you've been stuck searching for Mid Cap Growth funds, consider MSIFT Mid Cap Growth Portfolio I (MPEGX - Free Report) as a possibility. MPEGX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
MPEGX is part of the Mid Cap Growth section, a segment that boasts a wide array of possible selections. While Mid Cap Growth mutual funds choose companies with a stock market valuation between $2 billion and $10 billion, stocks in these funds are also expected to show broad considerable growth opportunities for investors compared to their peers. To be considered a growth stock, companies must consistently report impressive sales and/or earnings growth.
History of Fund/Manager
MPEGX is a part of the MorgStanley family of funds, a company based out of New York, NY. MSIFT Mid Cap Growth Portfolio I debuted in March of 1990. Since then, MPEGX has accumulated assets of about $374.74 million, according to the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 10.18%, 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 22.14%, 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 MPEGX over the past three years is 21.87% compared to the category average of 11.26%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 19.7% compared to the category average of 11%. 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. MPEGX lost 55.8% in the most recent bear market and underperformed comparable funds by 4%. This might suggest that the fund is a worse choice than its peers during a bear market.
Investors should note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 0.95, so it is likely going to be less 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. With a positive alpha of 4.61, 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 principally on equities that are traded in the United States.
Right now, 76.52% of this mutual fund's holdings are stocks, which have an average market capitalization of $16.43 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
Technology
Services
Retail Trade
This fund's turnover is about 116%, so the fund managers are making more traders than comparable funds in a given year.
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, MPEGX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.73% compared to the category average of 1.20%. From a cost perspective, MPEGX is actually cheaper than its peers.
Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $5 million and that each subsequent investment has no minimum amount.
Bottom Line
Overall, MSIFT Mid Cap Growth Portfolio I ( MPEGX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, worse downside risk, and lower fees, MSIFT Mid Cap Growth Portfolio I ( MPEGX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
For additional information on the Mid Cap Growth area of the mutual fund world, make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds. There, you can see more about the ranking process, and dive even deeper into MPEGX too for additional information. Zacks provides a full suite of tools to help you analyze your portfolio - both funds and stocks - in the most efficient way possible.
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Is MSIFT Mid Cap Growth Portfolio I (MPEGX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
If you've been stuck searching for Mid Cap Growth funds, consider MSIFT Mid Cap Growth Portfolio I (MPEGX - Free Report) as a possibility. MPEGX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
MPEGX is part of the Mid Cap Growth section, a segment that boasts a wide array of possible selections. While Mid Cap Growth mutual funds choose companies with a stock market valuation between $2 billion and $10 billion, stocks in these funds are also expected to show broad considerable growth opportunities for investors compared to their peers. To be considered a growth stock, companies must consistently report impressive sales and/or earnings growth.
History of Fund/Manager
MPEGX is a part of the MorgStanley family of funds, a company based out of New York, NY. MSIFT Mid Cap Growth Portfolio I debuted in March of 1990. Since then, MPEGX has accumulated assets of about $374.74 million, according to the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 10.18%, 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 22.14%, 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 MPEGX over the past three years is 21.87% compared to the category average of 11.26%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 19.7% compared to the category average of 11%. 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. MPEGX lost 55.8% in the most recent bear market and underperformed comparable funds by 4%. This might suggest that the fund is a worse choice than its peers during a bear market.
Investors should note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 0.95, so it is likely going to be less 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. With a positive alpha of 4.61, 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 principally on equities that are traded in the United States.
Right now, 76.52% of this mutual fund's holdings are stocks, which have an average market capitalization of $16.43 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
- Technology
- Services
- Retail Trade
This fund's turnover is about 116%, so the fund managers are making more traders than comparable funds in a given year.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, MPEGX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.73% compared to the category average of 1.20%. From a cost perspective, MPEGX is actually cheaper than its peers.
Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $5 million and that each subsequent investment has no minimum amount.
Bottom Line
Overall, MSIFT Mid Cap Growth Portfolio I ( MPEGX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, worse downside risk, and lower fees, MSIFT Mid Cap Growth Portfolio I ( MPEGX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
For additional information on the Mid Cap Growth area of the mutual fund world, make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds. There, you can see more about the ranking process, and dive even deeper into MPEGX too for additional information. Zacks provides a full suite of tools to help you analyze your portfolio - both funds and stocks - in the most efficient way possible.