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Is MSIFT Mid Cap Growth Portfolio I (MPEGX) 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 MSIFT Mid Cap Growth Portfolio I (MPEGX - Free Report) . MPEGX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
History of Fund/Manager
MPEGX is a part of the MorgStanley family of funds, a company based out of New York, NY. The MSIFT Mid Cap Growth Portfolio I made its debut in March of 1990 and MPEGX has managed to accumulate roughly $416.28 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund's current manager is a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 4.91%, 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 -6.04%, 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. Over the past three years, MPEGX's standard deviation comes in at 41.36%, compared to the category average of 18.85%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 35.37% compared to the category average of 16.62%. 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 1.23, which means it is hypothetically more volatile than 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. MPEGX's 5-year performance has produced a negative alpha of -2.32, which means 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, MPEGX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.77% compared to the category average of 1.15%. From a cost perspective, MPEGX is actually cheaper than its peers.
Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $1 million and that each subsequent investment has no minimum amount.
Bottom Line
Overall, MSIFT Mid Cap Growth Portfolio I ( MPEGX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, worse downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a somewhat average choice for investors right now.
For additional information on this product, or to compare it to other mutual funds in the Mutual Fund Equity Report, make sure to go to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for additional information. If you are more of a stock investor, make sure to also check out our Zacks Rank, and our full suite of tools we have available for novice and professional investors alike.
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Is MSIFT Mid Cap Growth Portfolio I (MPEGX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
If you have been looking for Mutual Fund Equity Report fund category, a potential starting could be MSIFT Mid Cap Growth Portfolio I (MPEGX - Free Report) . MPEGX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
History of Fund/Manager
MPEGX is a part of the MorgStanley family of funds, a company based out of New York, NY. The MSIFT Mid Cap Growth Portfolio I made its debut in March of 1990 and MPEGX has managed to accumulate roughly $416.28 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund's current manager is a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 4.91%, 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 -6.04%, 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. Over the past three years, MPEGX's standard deviation comes in at 41.36%, compared to the category average of 18.85%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 35.37% compared to the category average of 16.62%. 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 1.23, which means it is hypothetically more volatile than 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. MPEGX's 5-year performance has produced a negative alpha of -2.32, which means 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, MPEGX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.77% compared to the category average of 1.15%. From a cost perspective, MPEGX is actually cheaper than its peers.
Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $1 million and that each subsequent investment has no minimum amount.
Bottom Line
Overall, MSIFT Mid Cap Growth Portfolio I ( MPEGX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, worse downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a somewhat average choice for investors right now.
For additional information on this product, or to compare it to other mutual funds in the Mutual Fund Equity Report, make sure to go to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for additional information. If you are more of a stock investor, make sure to also check out our Zacks Rank, and our full suite of tools we have available for novice and professional investors alike.