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Is American Century Income & Growth Investor (BIGRX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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On the lookout for a Mutual Fund Equity Report fund? Starting with American Century Income & Growth Investor (BIGRX - Free Report) is one possibility. BIGRX has 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 Century is based in Kansas City, MO, and is the manager of BIGRX. Since American Century Income & Growth Investor made its debut in December of 1990, BIGRX has garnered more than $1.58 billion in assets. Steven Rossi is the fund's current manager and has held that role since April of 2020.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 6.27%, and it sits in the middle third among its category peers. But if you are looking for a shorter time frame, it is also worth looking at its 3-year annualized total return of 5.62%, 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. BIGRX's standard deviation over the past three years is 18.77% compared to the category average of 16.46%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 17.16% compared to the category average of 14.64%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
Investors should note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 0.91, so it is likely going to be less volatile than the market at large. 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. BIGRX has generated a negative alpha over the past five years of -2.09, demonstrating 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.
This fund is currently holding about 95.86% stock in stocks, and these companies have an average market capitalization of $89.80 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
Finance
Technology
Retail Trade
Turnover is 234%, which means, on average, the fund makes more trades in a given year than the average of 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, BIGRX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.65% compared to the category average of 0.92%. So, BIGRX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.
While the minimum initial investment for the product is $2,500, investors should also note that each subsequent investment needs to be at least $50.
Bottom Line
Overall, American Century Income & Growth Investor ( BIGRX ) 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 good potential choice for investors right now.
Want even more information about BIGRX? 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. Want to learn even more? We have a full suite of tools on stocks that you can use to find the best choices for your portfolio too, no matter what kind of investor you are.
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Is American Century Income & Growth Investor (BIGRX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
On the lookout for a Mutual Fund Equity Report fund? Starting with American Century Income & Growth Investor (BIGRX - Free Report) is one possibility. BIGRX has 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 Century is based in Kansas City, MO, and is the manager of BIGRX. Since American Century Income & Growth Investor made its debut in December of 1990, BIGRX has garnered more than $1.58 billion in assets. Steven Rossi is the fund's current manager and has held that role since April of 2020.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 6.27%, and it sits in the middle third among its category peers. But if you are looking for a shorter time frame, it is also worth looking at its 3-year annualized total return of 5.62%, 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. BIGRX's standard deviation over the past three years is 18.77% compared to the category average of 16.46%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 17.16% compared to the category average of 14.64%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
Investors should note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 0.91, so it is likely going to be less volatile than the market at large. 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. BIGRX has generated a negative alpha over the past five years of -2.09, demonstrating 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.
This fund is currently holding about 95.86% stock in stocks, and these companies have an average market capitalization of $89.80 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
- Finance
- Technology
- Retail Trade
Turnover is 234%, which means, on average, the fund makes more trades in a given year than the average of 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, BIGRX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.65% compared to the category average of 0.92%. So, BIGRX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.
While the minimum initial investment for the product is $2,500, investors should also note that each subsequent investment needs to be at least $50.
Bottom Line
Overall, American Century Income & Growth Investor ( BIGRX ) 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 good potential choice for investors right now.
Want even more information about BIGRX? 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. Want to learn even more? We have a full suite of tools on stocks that you can use to find the best choices for your portfolio too, no matter what kind of investor you are.