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Is Franklin Growth A (FKGRX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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If investors are looking at the Mutual Fund Equity Report fund category, Franklin Growth A (FKGRX - Free Report) could be a potential option. FKGRX bears 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
FKGRX finds itself in the Franklin family, based out of San Mateo, CA. Franklin Growth A made its debut in March of 1948, and since then, FKGRX has accumulated about $10.86 billion in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund is currently managed by a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 15.02%, and it sits in the middle 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 5.26%, 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. Compared to the category average of 15.85%, the standard deviation of FKGRX over the past three years is 19.46%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 19.73% compared to the category average of 16.42%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
The fund has a 5-year beta of 1.04, 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. FKGRX has generated a negative alpha over the past five years of -0.9, 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, FKGRX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.80% compared to the category average of 0.96%. FKGRX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.
This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $1,000, 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, Franklin Growth A ( FKGRX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a great potential choice for investors right now.
Want even more information about FKGRX? 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. Zacks provides a full suite of tools to help you analyze your portfolio - both funds and stocks - in the most efficient way possible.
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Is Franklin Growth A (FKGRX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
If investors are looking at the Mutual Fund Equity Report fund category, Franklin Growth A (FKGRX - Free Report) could be a potential option. FKGRX bears 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
FKGRX finds itself in the Franklin family, based out of San Mateo, CA. Franklin Growth A made its debut in March of 1948, and since then, FKGRX has accumulated about $10.86 billion in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund is currently managed by a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 15.02%, and it sits in the middle 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 5.26%, 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. Compared to the category average of 15.85%, the standard deviation of FKGRX over the past three years is 19.46%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 19.73% compared to the category average of 16.42%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
The fund has a 5-year beta of 1.04, 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. FKGRX has generated a negative alpha over the past five years of -0.9, 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, FKGRX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.80% compared to the category average of 0.96%. FKGRX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.
This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $1,000, 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, Franklin Growth A ( FKGRX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a great potential choice for investors right now.
Want even more information about FKGRX? 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. Zacks provides a full suite of tools to help you analyze your portfolio - both funds and stocks - in the most efficient way possible.