If investors are looking at the Mutual Fund Equity Report fund category, make sure to pass over T. Rowe Price Blue Chip Growth Fund (TRBCX Quick QuoteTRBCX - Free Report) . TRBCX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 4 (Sell), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

History of Fund/Manager

TRBCX is a part of the T. Rowe Price family of funds, a company based out of Baltimore, MD. T. Rowe Price Blue Chip Growth Fund made its debut in June of 1993, and since then, TRBCX has accumulated about $31.31 billion in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund is currently managed by Paul Greene who has been in charge of the fund since October of 2021.

Performance

Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 6.6%, and is in the bottom 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 2.91%, which places it in the bottom 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 TRBCX over the past three years is 23.82% compared to the category average of 18.1%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 21.14% compared to the category average of 15.98%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

With a 5-year beta of 1.06, the fund is likely to be more volatile than 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 -3.61, which shows 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 primarily on equities that are traded in the United States.

Currently, this mutual fund is holding 98.26% stock in stocks, and these companies have an average market capitalization of $581.42 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:

1. Technology
2. Retail Trade
3. Finance

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, TRBCX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.72% compared to the category average of 1%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, TRBCX is actually cheaper than its peers.

Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $2,500 and that each subsequent investment needs to be at $100.

Bottom Line

Overall, T. Rowe Price Blue Chip Growth Fund ( TRBCX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, worse downside risk, and lower fees, T. Rowe Price Blue Chip Growth Fund ( TRBCX ) looks like a somewhat weak choice for investors right now.

This could just be the start of your research on TRBCXin 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. If you want to check out our stock reports as well, make sure to go to Zacks.com to see all of the great tools we have to offer, including our time-tested Zacks Rank.