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Is American Funds Growth Portfolio A (GWPAX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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If you have been looking for Mutual Fund Equity Report funds, a place to start could be American Funds Growth Portfolio A (GWPAX - Free Report) . GWPAX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
History of Fund/Manager
American Funds is based in Los Angeles, CA, and is the manager of GWPAX. Since American Funds Growth Portfolio A made its debut in May of 2012, GWPAX has garnered more than $9.46 billion in assets. The fund's current manager is a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. GWPAX has a 5-year annualized total return of 9.95% and it sits in the top third among its category peers. If you're interested in shorter time frames, do not dismiss looking at the fund's 3-year annualized total return of 8.82%, 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. GWPAX's standard deviation over the past three years is 19.52% compared to the category average of 14.77%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 16.91% compared to the category average of 13.08%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
The fund has a 5-year beta of 1, so investors should note that it is hypothetically as volatile as the market at large. 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. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a negative alpha of -3.15. This means that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
Holdings
Examining 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.
As of the last filing date, the mutual fund has 84.53% of its assets in stocks and it has a negligible amount of assets in foreign securities. With turnover at about 5%, this fund makes fewer trades than its comparable peers.
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, GWPAX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.36% compared to the category average of 0.99%. GWPAX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.
Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $250; each subsequent investment needs to be at least $50.
Bottom Line
Overall, American Funds Growth Portfolio A ( GWPAX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
This could just be the start of your research on GWPAXin the Mutual Fund Equity Report category. Consider going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for additional information about this fund, and all the others that we rank as well for additional information. And don't forget, Zacks has all of your needs covered on the equity side too! Make sure to check out Zacks.com for more information on our screening capabilities, Rank, and all our articles as well.
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Is American Funds Growth Portfolio A (GWPAX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
If you have been looking for Mutual Fund Equity Report funds, a place to start could be American Funds Growth Portfolio A (GWPAX - Free Report) . GWPAX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
History of Fund/Manager
American Funds is based in Los Angeles, CA, and is the manager of GWPAX. Since American Funds Growth Portfolio A made its debut in May of 2012, GWPAX has garnered more than $9.46 billion in assets. The fund's current manager is a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. GWPAX has a 5-year annualized total return of 9.95% and it sits in the top third among its category peers. If you're interested in shorter time frames, do not dismiss looking at the fund's 3-year annualized total return of 8.82%, 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. GWPAX's standard deviation over the past three years is 19.52% compared to the category average of 14.77%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 16.91% compared to the category average of 13.08%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
The fund has a 5-year beta of 1, so investors should note that it is hypothetically as volatile as the market at large. 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. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a negative alpha of -3.15. This means that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
Holdings
Examining 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.
As of the last filing date, the mutual fund has 84.53% of its assets in stocks and it has a negligible amount of assets in foreign securities. With turnover at about 5%, this fund makes fewer trades than its comparable peers.
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, GWPAX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.36% compared to the category average of 0.99%. GWPAX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.
Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $250; each subsequent investment needs to be at least $50.
Bottom Line
Overall, American Funds Growth Portfolio A ( GWPAX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
This could just be the start of your research on GWPAXin the Mutual Fund Equity Report category. Consider going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for additional information about this fund, and all the others that we rank as well for additional information. And don't forget, Zacks has all of your needs covered on the equity side too! Make sure to check out Zacks.com for more information on our screening capabilities, Rank, and all our articles as well.