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Is Pioneer Select Mid Cap Growth A (PGOFX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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Having trouble finding a Mutual Fund Equity Report fund? Well, Pioneer Select Mid Cap Growth A (PGOFX - Free Report) would not be a good potential starting point right now. PGOFX has 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
PGOFX finds itself in the Amundi US family, based out of Boston, MA. Pioneer Select Mid Cap Growth A debuted in January of 1968. Since then, PGOFX has accumulated assets of about $960.68 million, according to the most recently available information. The fund's current manager is a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 2.95%, 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 -2.11%, which places it in the bottom 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. PGOFX's standard deviation over the past three years is 21.47% compared to the category average of 15.8%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 23.32% compared to the category average of 16.84%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
Investors should not forget about beta, an important way to measure a mutual fund's risk compared to the market as a whole. PGOFX has a 5-year beta of 1.13, which means it 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. PGOFX has generated a negative alpha over the past five years of -6.63, demonstrating that 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, PGOFX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.03% compared to the category average of 1.15%. PGOFX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.
Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $1,000; 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, Pioneer Select Mid Cap Growth A ( PGOFX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, worse downside risk, and lower fees, Pioneer Select Mid Cap Growth A ( PGOFX ) looks like a somewhat weak choice for investors right now.
This could just be the start of your research on PGOFXin 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. 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 Pioneer Select Mid Cap Growth A (PGOFX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
Having trouble finding a Mutual Fund Equity Report fund? Well, Pioneer Select Mid Cap Growth A (PGOFX - Free Report) would not be a good potential starting point right now. PGOFX has 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
PGOFX finds itself in the Amundi US family, based out of Boston, MA. Pioneer Select Mid Cap Growth A debuted in January of 1968. Since then, PGOFX has accumulated assets of about $960.68 million, according to the most recently available information. The fund's current manager is a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 2.95%, 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 -2.11%, which places it in the bottom 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. PGOFX's standard deviation over the past three years is 21.47% compared to the category average of 15.8%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 23.32% compared to the category average of 16.84%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
Investors should not forget about beta, an important way to measure a mutual fund's risk compared to the market as a whole. PGOFX has a 5-year beta of 1.13, which means it 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. PGOFX has generated a negative alpha over the past five years of -6.63, demonstrating that 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, PGOFX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.03% compared to the category average of 1.15%. PGOFX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.
Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $1,000; 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, Pioneer Select Mid Cap Growth A ( PGOFX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, worse downside risk, and lower fees, Pioneer Select Mid Cap Growth A ( PGOFX ) looks like a somewhat weak choice for investors right now.
This could just be the start of your research on PGOFXin 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. 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.