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Is American Funds Growth Fund of America C (GFACX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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On the lookout for a Large Cap Growth fund? Starting with American Funds Growth Fund of America C (GFACX - Free Report) is one possibility. GFACX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
We classify GFACX in the Large Cap Growth category, an area rife with potential choices. Large Cap Growth funds invest in many large U.S. companies that are expected to grow much faster compared to other large-cap stocks. To be considered large-cap, companies must have a market cap over $10 billion.
History of Fund/Manager
GFACX is a part of the American Funds family of funds, a company based out of Los Angeles, CA. Since American Funds Growth Fund of America C made its debut in March of 2001, GFACX has garnered more than $4.47 billion in assets. The fund's current manager is a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 19.08%, 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 18.75%, 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 15.27%, the standard deviation of GFACX over the past three years is 19.29%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 15.72% compared to the category average of 12.64%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
With a 5-year beta of 1, the fund is likely to be as volatile as 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. GFACX has generated a positive alpha over the past five years of 1.72, demonstrating that 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 primarily on equities that are traded in the United States.
Currently, this mutual fund is holding 86.3% stock in stocks, which have an average market capitalization of $340.36 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
Technology
Retail Trade
Finance
Turnover is 24%, which means this fund makes fewer trades than its comparable peers.
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, GFACX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.35% compared to the category average of 1.02%. So, GFACX is actually more expensive than its peers from a cost perspective.
While the minimum initial investment for the product is $250, investors should also note that each subsequent investment needs to be at least $50.
Bottom Line
Overall, American Funds Growth Fund of America C ( GFACX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and higher fees, American Funds Growth Fund of America C ( GFACX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
Want even more information about GFACX? 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 want to check out our stock reports as well, make sure to go to Zacks.com to see all of the great tools we have to offer, including our time-tested Zacks Rank.
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Is American Funds Growth Fund of America C (GFACX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
On the lookout for a Large Cap Growth fund? Starting with American Funds Growth Fund of America C (GFACX - Free Report) is one possibility. GFACX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
We classify GFACX in the Large Cap Growth category, an area rife with potential choices. Large Cap Growth funds invest in many large U.S. companies that are expected to grow much faster compared to other large-cap stocks. To be considered large-cap, companies must have a market cap over $10 billion.
History of Fund/Manager
GFACX is a part of the American Funds family of funds, a company based out of Los Angeles, CA. Since American Funds Growth Fund of America C made its debut in March of 2001, GFACX has garnered more than $4.47 billion in assets. The fund's current manager is a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 19.08%, 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 18.75%, 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 15.27%, the standard deviation of GFACX over the past three years is 19.29%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 15.72% compared to the category average of 12.64%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
With a 5-year beta of 1, the fund is likely to be as volatile as 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. GFACX has generated a positive alpha over the past five years of 1.72, demonstrating that 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 primarily on equities that are traded in the United States.
Currently, this mutual fund is holding 86.3% stock in stocks, which have an average market capitalization of $340.36 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
- Technology
- Retail Trade
- Finance
Turnover is 24%, which means this fund makes fewer trades than its comparable peers.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, GFACX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.35% compared to the category average of 1.02%. So, GFACX is actually more expensive than its peers from a cost perspective.
While the minimum initial investment for the product is $250, investors should also note that each subsequent investment needs to be at least $50.
Bottom Line
Overall, American Funds Growth Fund of America C ( GFACX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and higher fees, American Funds Growth Fund of America C ( GFACX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
Want even more information about GFACX? 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 want to check out our stock reports as well, make sure to go to Zacks.com to see all of the great tools we have to offer, including our time-tested Zacks Rank.