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Is ClearBridge Aggressive Growth A (SHRAX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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If investors are looking at the Large Cap Growth fund category, make sure to pass over ClearBridge Aggressive Growth A (SHRAX - Free Report) . SHRAX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 5 (Strong Sell), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

SHRAX is classified in the Large Cap Growth segment by Zacks, an area full of possibilities. Companies are usually considered to be large-cap if their stock market valuation is more than $10 billion. Large Cap Growth mutual funds invest in many large U.S. firms that are projected to grow at a faster rate than their large-cap peers.

History of Fund/Manager

SHRAX finds itself in the Franklin Templeton family, based out of San Mateo, CA. ClearBridge Aggressive Growth A made its debut in October of 1983, and since then, SHRAX has accumulated about $4.83 billion in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund is currently managed by Richard Freeman who has been in charge of the fund since October of 1983.

Performance

Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. SHRAX has a 5-year annualized total return of 12.38% and is in the bottom third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 12.88%, 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. Compared to the category average of 15.72%, the standard deviation of SHRAX over the past three years is 21.18%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 18.01% compared to the category average of 13.18%. 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. SHRAX has a 5-year beta of 1.08, which means it is likely to be more volatile than the market average. Alpha is an additional metric to take into consideration, since it represents a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which in this case, is the S&P 500. SHRAX's 5-year performance has produced a negative alpha of -4.14, which means 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, SHRAX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.13% compared to the category average of 1.03%. So, SHRAX is actually more expensive than its peers from a cost perspective.

This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $1,000, and each subsequent investment should be at least $50.

Bottom Line

Overall, ClearBridge Aggressive Growth A ( SHRAX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, average downside risk, and higher fees, this fund looks like a somewhat weak choice for investors right now.

Want even more information about SHRAX? 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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