We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience. This includes personalizing content and advertising. To learn more, click here. By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies, revised Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.
You are being directed to ZacksTrade, a division of LBMZ Securities and licensed broker-dealer. ZacksTrade and Zacks.com are separate companies. The web link between the two companies is not a solicitation or offer to invest in a particular security or type of security. ZacksTrade does not endorse or adopt any particular investment strategy, any analyst opinion/rating/report or any approach to evaluating individual securities.
If you wish to go to ZacksTrade, click OK. If you do not, click Cancel.
Is T. Rowe Price Growth Stock I (PRUFX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
Read MoreHide Full Article
On the lookout for a Mutual Fund Equity Report fund? Starting with T. Rowe Price Growth Stock I (PRUFX - Free Report) is one possibility. PRUFX carries 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
T. Rowe Price is responsible for PRUFX, and the company is based out of Baltimore, MD. Since T. Rowe Price Growth Stock I made its debut in September of 2015, PRUFX has garnered more than $13.72 billion in assets. Joseph Fath is the fund's current manager and has held that role since September of 2015.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 7.61%, and is in the bottom 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 1.57%, 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. Compared to the category average of 15.62%, the standard deviation of PRUFX over the past three years is 22.12%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 22.27% compared to the category average of 16.52%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
The fund has a 5-year beta of 1.08, so investors should note that it is hypothetically more volatile than the market at large. 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 -2.21. 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 largely on equities that are traded in the United States.
This fund is currently holding about 81.13% in stocks and it has 6.59% of assets in foreign securities. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
Technology
Retail Trade
With turnover at about 35.6%, this fund makes fewer trades than its comparable peers.
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, PRUFX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.53% compared to the category average of 0.98%. From a cost perspective, PRUFX is actually cheaper than its peers.
This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $500,000, 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, even with its comparatively weak performance, worse downside risk, and lower fees, T. Rowe Price Growth Stock I ( PRUFX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and therefore looks a great potential choice for investors right now.
For additional information on the Mutual Fund Equity Report area of the mutual fund world, make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds. There, you can see more about the ranking process, and dive even deeper into PRUFX too for additional information. Zacks provides a full suite of tools to help you analyze your portfolio - both funds and stocks - in the most efficient way possible.
See More Zacks Research for These Tickers
Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:
Image: Bigstock
Is T. Rowe Price Growth Stock I (PRUFX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
On the lookout for a Mutual Fund Equity Report fund? Starting with T. Rowe Price Growth Stock I (PRUFX - Free Report) is one possibility. PRUFX carries 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
T. Rowe Price is responsible for PRUFX, and the company is based out of Baltimore, MD. Since T. Rowe Price Growth Stock I made its debut in September of 2015, PRUFX has garnered more than $13.72 billion in assets. Joseph Fath is the fund's current manager and has held that role since September of 2015.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 7.61%, and is in the bottom 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 1.57%, 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. Compared to the category average of 15.62%, the standard deviation of PRUFX over the past three years is 22.12%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 22.27% compared to the category average of 16.52%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
The fund has a 5-year beta of 1.08, so investors should note that it is hypothetically more volatile than the market at large. 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 -2.21. 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 largely on equities that are traded in the United States.
This fund is currently holding about 81.13% in stocks and it has 6.59% of assets in foreign securities. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
- Technology
- Retail Trade
With turnover at about 35.6%, this fund makes fewer trades than its comparable peers.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, PRUFX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.53% compared to the category average of 0.98%. From a cost perspective, PRUFX is actually cheaper than its peers.
This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $500,000, 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, even with its comparatively weak performance, worse downside risk, and lower fees, T. Rowe Price Growth Stock I ( PRUFX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and therefore looks a great potential choice for investors right now.
For additional information on the Mutual Fund Equity Report area of the mutual fund world, make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds. There, you can see more about the ranking process, and dive even deeper into PRUFX too for additional information. Zacks provides a full suite of tools to help you analyze your portfolio - both funds and stocks - in the most efficient way possible.