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Is Principal Small Cap Growth I Institutional (PGRTX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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Having trouble finding a Small Cap Growth fund? Principal Small Cap Growth I Institutional (PGRTX - Free Report) is a potential starting point. PGRTX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
The world of Small Cap Growth funds is an area filled with options, such as PGRTX. These funds tend to create their portfolios around stocks that sport large growth opportunities and market capitalization of less than $2 billion. The companies in these portfolios are usually on the smaller side, and are in up-and-coming industries and markets.
History of Fund/Manager
Principal Financial Group is based in Des Moines, IA, and is the manager of PGRTX. Principal Small Cap Growth I Institutional made its debut in September of 2002, and since then, PGRTX has accumulated about $302.93 million in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund is currently managed by Randy Welch who has been in charge of the fund since June of 2009.
Performance
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. PGRTX has a 5-year annualized total return of 22.8% and it sits in the middle third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 23.45%, 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. PGRTX's standard deviation over the past three years is 24.73% compared to the category average of 16.45%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 19.91% compared to the category average of 13.58%. 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 1.16, which means it is hypothetically more volatile than the market at large. 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. With a positive alpha of 2.85, managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
Holdings
Investigating 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.
As of the last filing date, the mutual fund has 87.14% of its assets in stocks, with an average market capitalization of $5.70 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
Technology
Health
Industrial Cyclical
With turnover at about 67.6%, this fund makes fewer trades than the average comparable fund.
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, PGRTX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.97% compared to the category average of 1.21%. So, PGRTX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.
While the minimum initial investment for the product is $0, investors should also note that there is no minimum for each subsequent investment.
Bottom Line
Overall, Principal Small Cap Growth I Institutional ( PGRTX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, worse downside risk, and lower fees, Principal Small Cap Growth I Institutional ( PGRTX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
Don't stop here for your research on Small Cap Growth funds. We also have plenty more on our site in order to help you find the best possible fund for your portfolio. Make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for more information about the world of funds, and feel free to compare PGRTX to its peers as well 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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Is Principal Small Cap Growth I Institutional (PGRTX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
Having trouble finding a Small Cap Growth fund? Principal Small Cap Growth I Institutional (PGRTX - Free Report) is a potential starting point. PGRTX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
The world of Small Cap Growth funds is an area filled with options, such as PGRTX. These funds tend to create their portfolios around stocks that sport large growth opportunities and market capitalization of less than $2 billion. The companies in these portfolios are usually on the smaller side, and are in up-and-coming industries and markets.
History of Fund/Manager
Principal Financial Group is based in Des Moines, IA, and is the manager of PGRTX. Principal Small Cap Growth I Institutional made its debut in September of 2002, and since then, PGRTX has accumulated about $302.93 million in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund is currently managed by Randy Welch who has been in charge of the fund since June of 2009.
Performance
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. PGRTX has a 5-year annualized total return of 22.8% and it sits in the middle third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 23.45%, 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. PGRTX's standard deviation over the past three years is 24.73% compared to the category average of 16.45%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 19.91% compared to the category average of 13.58%. 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 1.16, which means it is hypothetically more volatile than the market at large. 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. With a positive alpha of 2.85, managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
Holdings
Investigating 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.
As of the last filing date, the mutual fund has 87.14% of its assets in stocks, with an average market capitalization of $5.70 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
- Technology
- Health
- Industrial Cyclical
With turnover at about 67.6%, this fund makes fewer trades than the average comparable fund.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, PGRTX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.97% compared to the category average of 1.21%. So, PGRTX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.
While the minimum initial investment for the product is $0, investors should also note that there is no minimum for each subsequent investment.
Bottom Line
Overall, Principal Small Cap Growth I Institutional ( PGRTX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, worse downside risk, and lower fees, Principal Small Cap Growth I Institutional ( PGRTX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
Don't stop here for your research on Small Cap Growth funds. We also have plenty more on our site in order to help you find the best possible fund for your portfolio. Make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for more information about the world of funds, and feel free to compare PGRTX to its peers as well 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.