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Is American Funds New Perspective R6 (RNPGX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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If you have been looking for Mutual Fund Equity Report fund category, a potential starting could be American Funds New Perspective R6 (RNPGX - Free Report) . RNPGX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

History of Fund/Manager

RNPGX is a part of the American Funds family of funds, a company based out of Los Angeles, CA. The American Funds New Perspective R6 made its debut in May of 2009 and RNPGX has managed to accumulate roughly $30.95 billion in assets, as of the most recently available information. A team of investment professionals is the fund's current manager.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. RNPGX has a 5-year annualized total return of 12.5% 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 12.1%, 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. Compared to the category average of 14.81%, the standard deviation of RNPGX over the past three years is 20.12%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 17.33% compared to the category average of 13.12%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

With a 5-year beta of 1.01, the fund is likely to be as volatile as the market average. 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. The fund has produced a negative alpha over the past 5 years of -1.02, which shows that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

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, RNPGX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.41% compared to the category average of 1.10%. From a cost perspective, RNPGX is actually cheaper than its peers.

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 New Perspective R6 ( RNPGX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a somewhat average choice for investors right now.

Don't stop here for your research on Mutual Fund Equity Report 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 RNPGX to its peers 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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