If you have been looking for Mutual Fund Equity Report funds, a place to start could be Putnam Global Technology A (PGTAX Quick QuotePGTAX - Free Report) . PGTAX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

History of Fund/Manager

Putnam Funds is responsible for PGTAX, and the company is based out of Canton, MA. Since Putnam Global Technology A made its debut in January of 2009, PGTAX has garnered more than $460.60 million in assets. The fund is currently managed by Di Yao who has been in charge of the fund since December of 2012.

Performance

Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. PGTAX has a 5-year annualized total return of 16.77% and it sits in the top 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 11.18%, which places it in the middle third during this time-frame.

It is important to note that the product's returns may not reflect all its expenses. Any fees not reflected would lower the returns. Total returns do not reflect the fund's [%] sale charge. If sales charges were included, total returns would have been lower.

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 PGTAX over the past three years is 23.79% compared to the category average of 16.65%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 23.47% compared to the category average of 17.32%. 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 1.08, which means 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. PGTAX has generated a positive alpha over the past five years of 4.17, demonstrating that managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

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, PGTAX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.56% compared to the category average of 1.28%. PGTAX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.

This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $500, while there is no minimum for each subsequent investment.

Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.

Bottom Line

Overall, Putnam Global Technology A ( PGTAX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, worse downside risk, and lower fees, Putnam Global Technology A ( PGTAX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.

This could just be the start of your research on PGTAXin 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. 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.