Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Is T. Rowe Price All-Cap Opportunities Fund (PRWAX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

Read MoreHide Full Article

There are plenty of choices in the Mutual Fund Equity Report category, but where should you start your research? Well, one fund that might be worth investigating is T. Rowe Price All-Cap Opportunities Fund (PRWAX - Free Report) . PRWAX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), 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 PRWAX. T. Rowe Price All-Cap Opportunities Fund debuted in September of 1985. Since then, PRWAX has accumulated assets of about $5.68 billion, according to the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by Justin White who has been in charge of the fund since April of 2016.

Performance

Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. PRWAX has a 5-year annualized total return of 13.14% and is in the top third among its category peers. But if you are looking for a shorter time frame, it is also worth looking at its 3-year annualized total return of 8.57%, which places it in the top 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. PRWAX's standard deviation over the past three years is 17.78% compared to the category average of 16.48%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 19.68% compared to the category average of 17.33%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

With a 5-year beta of 1, the fund is likely to be as volatile as the market average. Alpha is an additional metric to take into consideration, since it represents a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which in this case, is the S&P 500. PRWAX's 5-year performance has produced a positive alpha of 3.09, which means 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.

As of the last filing date, the mutual fund has 77.55% of its assets in stocks and it has 9.66% of assets in foreign securities. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:

  • Technology
  • Finance
Turnover is 95%, which means this fund makes more trades per year than the comparable average.

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, PRWAX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.79% compared to the category average of 0.98%. PRWAX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.

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

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

Bottom Line

Overall, T. Rowe Price All-Cap Opportunities Fund ( PRWAX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.

Want even more information about PRWAX? Then go over to Zacks.com and check out our mutual fund comparison tool, and all of the other great features that we have to help you with your mutual fund analysis 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.


See More Zacks Research for These Tickers


Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:


T ROWE PRICE NEW AMER GROWTH (PRWAX) - free report >>

Published in