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Is T. Rowe Price Blue Chip Growth Fund (TRBCX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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Mutual Fund Equity Report fund seekers may want to consider taking a look at T. Rowe Price Blue Chip Growth Fund (TRBCX - Free Report) . TRBCX has 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

T. Rowe Price is based in Baltimore, MD, and is the manager of TRBCX. T. Rowe Price Blue Chip Growth Fund made its debut in June of 1993, and since then, TRBCX has accumulated about $24.44 billion in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund's current manager, Paul Greene, has been in charge of the fund since October of 2021.

Performance

Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 7.4%, and it sits 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 5.1%, 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. Compared to the category average of 17.23%, the standard deviation of TRBCX over the past three years is 22.64%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 21.6% compared to the category average of 16.66%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

With a 5-year beta of 1.07, 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. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a negative alpha of -3.87. This means that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

Holdings

Exploring 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 principally on equities that are traded in the United States.

Right now, 89.37% of this mutual fund's holdings are stocks, with an average market capitalization of $400.31 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:

  • Technology
  • Finance
  • Retail Trade
Turnover is about 10.5%, so those in charge of the fund make fewer trades than the average comparable fund.

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, TRBCX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.71% compared to the category average of 0.99%. From a cost perspective, TRBCX is actually cheaper than its peers.

This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $2,500, and each subsequent investment should be at least $100.

Bottom Line

Overall, T. Rowe Price Blue Chip Growth Fund ( TRBCX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, average 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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