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Is T. Rowe Price Institutional Small-Cap Stock (TRSSX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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If you have been looking for Mutual Fund Equity Report funds, a place to start could be T. Rowe Price Institutional Small-Cap Stock (TRSSX - Free Report) . TRSSX carries 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 TRSSX. The T. Rowe Price Institutional Small-Cap Stock made its debut in October of 2000 and TRSSX has managed to accumulate roughly $4.21 billion in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund's current manager, Frank Alonso, has been in charge of the fund since October of 2016.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 7.38%, and it sits 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 0.54%, 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. Compared to the category average of 22.85%, the standard deviation of TRSSX over the past three years is 18.69%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 21.53% compared to the category average of 24.09%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

With a 5-year beta of 1.03, the fund is likely to be as volatile as the market average. 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. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a negative alpha of -4.43. This means that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick 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.

Currently, this mutual fund is holding 90.08% in stocks and it has 8.31% of assets in foreign securities. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:

  • Finance
  • Industrial Cyclical
  • Technology
  • Other
  • Health
Turnover is 27.8%, which means, on average, the fund makes fewer trades than comparable funds.

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, TRSSX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.66% compared to the category average of 1.17%. TRSSX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.

While the minimum initial investment for the product is $1 million, investors should also note that 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, T. Rowe Price Institutional Small-Cap Stock ( TRSSX ) 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.

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


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