Having trouble finding a Mid Cap Growth fund? Neuberger Berman Mid Cap Growth A (NMGAX Quick QuoteNMGAX - Free Report) is a potential starting point. NMGAX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

Zacks categorizes NMGAX as Mid Cap Growth, a segment packed with options. Mid Cap Growth mutual funds aim to target companies with a market capitalization between $2 billion and $10 billion that are also expected to exhibit more extensive growth opportunities for investors than their peers. A firm is typically considered to be a growth stock if it consistently posts impressive sales and/or earnings growth.

History of Fund/Manager

NMGAX finds itself in the Neuberger family, based out of New York, NY. Neuberger Berman Mid Cap Growth A made its debut in May of 1998, and since then, NMGAX has accumulated about $36 million in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. A team of investment professionals is the fund's current manager.

Performance

Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 21.88%, and is 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 21.44%, 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. Over the past three years, NMGAX's standard deviation comes in at 21.51%, compared to the category average of 15.87%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 17.62% compared to the category average of 13.29%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

Investors should not forget about beta, an important way to measure a mutual fund's risk compared to the market as a whole. NMGAX has a 5-year beta of 1.07, which means it is likely to be more volatile than 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. NMGAX's 5-year performance has produced a positive alpha of 3.65, which means managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

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, NMGAX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.06% compared to the category average of 1.18%. NMGAX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.

While the minimum initial investment for the product is $1,000, investors should also note that each subsequent investment needs to be at least $100.

Bottom Line

Overall, Neuberger Berman Mid Cap Growth A ( NMGAX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Neuberger Berman Mid Cap Growth A ( NMGAX ) 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 NMGAX too 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.