Any investors hoping to find a Mutual Fund Equity Report fund might consider looking past ClearBridge Select Fund A (LCLAX Quick QuoteLCLAX - Free Report) . LCLAX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 4 (Sell), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

History of Fund/Manager

LCLAX is a part of the Franklin family of funds, a company based out of San Mateo, CA. ClearBridge Select Fund A debuted in September of 2013. Since then, LCLAX has accumulated assets of about $770.63 million, according to the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by Aram Green who has been in charge of the fund since September of 2013.

Performance

Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. LCLAX has a 5-year annualized total return of 12.39% and it sits in the top third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 12.37%, which places it in the top 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 LCLAX over the past three years is 22.9% compared to the category average of 18.85%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 23.4% compared to the category average of 16.62%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

The fund has a 5-year beta of 1.12, so investors should note that it is hypothetically more volatile than the market at large. Another factor to consider is alpha, as it reflects a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark-in this case, the S&P 500. The fund has produced a positive alpha over the past 5 years of 0.49, which shows that managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking 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 mostly on equities that are traded in the United States.

This fund is currently holding about 86.54% stock in stocks, which have an average market capitalization of $44.35 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:

• Technology
• Retail Trade
• Services

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, LCLAX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.34% compared to the category average of 0.91%. So, LCLAX is actually more expensive than its peers from a cost perspective.

This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $1,000, and each subsequent investment should be at least $50.

Bottom Line

Overall, ClearBridge Select Fund A ( LCLAX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, worse downside risk, and higher fees, this fund looks like a poor potential choice for investors right now.

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