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Is T. Rowe Price Institutional Large Cap Core (TPLGX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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Having trouble finding a Large Cap Growth fund? T. Rowe Price Institutional Large Cap Core (TPLGX - Free Report) is a potential starting point. TPLGX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

TPLGX 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

TPLGX is a part of the T. Rowe Price family of funds, a company based out of Baltimore, MD. The T. Rowe Price Institutional Large Cap Core made its debut in October of 2003 and TPLGX has managed to accumulate roughly $6.64 billion in assets, as of the most recently available information. Larry J. Puglia is the fund's current manager and has held that role since October of 2003.

Performance

Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. TPLGX has a 5-year annualized total return of 24.31% and it sits in the top third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 21.92%, 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. The standard deviation of TPLGX over the past three years is 19.47% compared to the category average of 20.12%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 16.13% compared to the category average of 16.45%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

Investors should note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 0.99, so it is likely going to be as volatile as 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. TPLGX has generated a positive alpha over the past five years of 5.8, demonstrating that managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

Holdings

Exploring 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 mostly on equities that are traded in the United States.

Currently, this mutual fund is holding 93.48% stock in stocks, with an average market capitalization of $587.09 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:

  1. Technology
  2. Retail Trade
  3. Finance
Turnover is about 45.6%, so those in charge of the fund make fewer trades than comparable funds.

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, TPLGX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.56% compared to the category average of 1.02%. From a cost perspective, TPLGX is actually cheaper than its peers.

Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $1 million; each subsequent investment has no minimum amount.

Bottom Line

Overall, T. Rowe Price Institutional Large Cap Core ( TPLGX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, T. Rowe Price Institutional Large Cap Core ( TPLGX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.

Don't stop here for your research on Large 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 TPLGX to its peers 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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