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Is Schwab MarketTrack Growth Investor (SWHGX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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There are plenty of choices in the Allocation Balanced category, but where should you start your research? Well, one fund that you should consider investigating is Schwab MarketTrack Growth Investor (SWHGX - Free Report) . SWHGX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
The world of Zacks' Allocation Balanced funds is an area filled with options, such as SWHGX. These funds like to invest in a variety of asset types, finding a balance between stocks, bonds, cash, and sometimes even precious metals and commodities; they are mostly categorized by their respective asset allocation. For investors, Allocation Balanced funds can provide an entry point into diversified mutual funds, and present core holding options for a portfolio of funds.
History of Fund/Manager
SWHGX is a part of the Schwab Funds family of funds, a company based out of San Francisco, CA. The Schwab MarketTrack Growth Investor made its debut in November of 1995 and SWHGX has managed to accumulate roughly $717 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by Zifan Tang who has been in charge of the fund since February of 2012.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. SWHGX has a 5-year annualized total return of 8.86% 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 6.86%, 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. Compared to the category average of 14.96%, the standard deviation of SWHGX over the past three years is 16.02%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 13.12% compared to the category average of 12.49%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
Investors should note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 0.84, 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. SWHGX's 5-year performance has produced a negative alpha of -2.8, which means managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
Expenses
As competition heats up in the mutual fund market, costs become increasingly important. Compared to its otherwise identical counterpart, a low-cost product will be an outperformer, all other things being equal. Thus, taking a closer look at cost-related metrics is vital for investors. In terms of fees, SWHGX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.39% compared to the category average of 0.89%. So, SWHGX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.
This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $0, while there is no minimum for each subsequent investment.
Bottom Line
Overall, Schwab MarketTrack Growth Investor ( SWHGX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Schwab MarketTrack Growth Investor ( SWHGX ) looks like a somewhat average choice for investors right now.
Your research on the Allocation Balanced 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. 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 Schwab MarketTrack Growth Investor (SWHGX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
There are plenty of choices in the Allocation Balanced category, but where should you start your research? Well, one fund that you should consider investigating is Schwab MarketTrack Growth Investor (SWHGX - Free Report) . SWHGX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
The world of Zacks' Allocation Balanced funds is an area filled with options, such as SWHGX. These funds like to invest in a variety of asset types, finding a balance between stocks, bonds, cash, and sometimes even precious metals and commodities; they are mostly categorized by their respective asset allocation. For investors, Allocation Balanced funds can provide an entry point into diversified mutual funds, and present core holding options for a portfolio of funds.
History of Fund/Manager
SWHGX is a part of the Schwab Funds family of funds, a company based out of San Francisco, CA. The Schwab MarketTrack Growth Investor made its debut in November of 1995 and SWHGX has managed to accumulate roughly $717 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by Zifan Tang who has been in charge of the fund since February of 2012.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. SWHGX has a 5-year annualized total return of 8.86% 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 6.86%, 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. Compared to the category average of 14.96%, the standard deviation of SWHGX over the past three years is 16.02%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 13.12% compared to the category average of 12.49%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
Investors should note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 0.84, 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. SWHGX's 5-year performance has produced a negative alpha of -2.8, which means managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
Expenses
As competition heats up in the mutual fund market, costs become increasingly important. Compared to its otherwise identical counterpart, a low-cost product will be an outperformer, all other things being equal. Thus, taking a closer look at cost-related metrics is vital for investors. In terms of fees, SWHGX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.39% compared to the category average of 0.89%. So, SWHGX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.
This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $0, while there is no minimum for each subsequent investment.
Bottom Line
Overall, Schwab MarketTrack Growth Investor ( SWHGX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Schwab MarketTrack Growth Investor ( SWHGX ) looks like a somewhat average choice for investors right now.
Your research on the Allocation Balanced 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. Zacks provides a full suite of tools to help you analyze your portfolio - both funds and stocks - in the most efficient way possible.