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Is T. Rowe Price Mid-Cap Growth Fund (RPMGX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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Any investors hoping to find a Mutual Fund Equity Report fund could think about starting with T. Rowe Price Mid-Cap Growth Fund (RPMGX - Free Report) . RPMGX carries 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

T. Rowe Price is based in Baltimore, MD, and is the manager of RPMGX. T. Rowe Price Mid-Cap Growth Fund debuted in June of 1992. Since then, RPMGX has accumulated assets of about $22.15 billion, according to the most recently available information. The fund's current manager, Brian W. H. Berghuis, has been in charge of the fund since June of 1992.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 10%, and it sits in the middle 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 6.73%, 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. RPMGX's standard deviation over the past three years is 21.19% compared to the category average of 17.37%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 18.77% compared to the category average of 15.54%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

Investors should not forget about beta, an important way to measure a mutual fund's risk compared to the market as a whole. RPMGX has a 5-year beta of 1.02, which means it 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. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a negative alpha of -2.56. This means that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick 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 largely on equities that are traded in the United States.

As of the last filing date, the mutual fund has 89.38% of its assets in stocks, with an average market capitalization of $23.74 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:

  1. Technology
  2. Industrial Cyclical
  3. Health
  4. Other
This fund's turnover is about 13.9%, so the fund managers are making 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, RPMGX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.72% compared to the category average of 1.15%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, RPMGX is actually cheaper than its peers.

Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $2,500; each subsequent investment needs to be at least $100.

Bottom Line

Overall, T. Rowe Price Mid-Cap Growth Fund ( RPMGX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a great potential 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 RPMGX 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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