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Is Hartford Growth Opportunities A (HGOAX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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If you have been looking for Mid Cap Growth fund category, a potential starting could be Hartford Growth Opportunities A (HGOAX - Free Report) . HGOAX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
Zacks categorizes HGOAX as Mid Cap Growth, a segment packed with options. Mid Cap Growth mutual funds aim to target companies with a market capitalization between $2 billion and $10 billion that are also expected to exhibit more extensive growth opportunities for investors than their peers. A firm is typically considered to be a growth stock if it consistently posts impressive sales and/or earnings growth.
History of Fund/Manager
Hartford is responsible for HGOAX, and the company is based out of Woodbury, MN. Hartford Growth Opportunities A made its debut in March of 1963, and since then, HGOAX has accumulated about $2.98 billion in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund's current manager, Mario Abularach, has been in charge of the fund since March of 2006.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 16.67%, and is in the middle 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 4.63%, 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. The standard deviation of HGOAX over the past three years is 24.04% compared to the category average of 15.03%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 23.5% compared to the category average of 15.77%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
With a 5-year beta of 1.17, the fund is likely to be more volatile than 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 -0.62. This means 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, HGOAX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.14% compared to the category average of 0.95%. So, HGOAX is actually more expensive than its peers from a cost perspective.
Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $2,000; each subsequent investment needs to be at least $50.
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 similar performance, worse downside risk, and higher fees, Hartford Growth Opportunities A ( HGOAX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and therefore looks a somewhat average choice for investors right now.
Don't stop here for your research on Mid Cap Growth funds. We also have plenty more on our site in order to help you find the best possible fund for your portfolio. Make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for more information about the world of funds, and feel free to compare HGOAX to its peers as well 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.
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Is Hartford Growth Opportunities A (HGOAX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
If you have been looking for Mid Cap Growth fund category, a potential starting could be Hartford Growth Opportunities A (HGOAX - Free Report) . HGOAX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
Zacks categorizes HGOAX as Mid Cap Growth, a segment packed with options. Mid Cap Growth mutual funds aim to target companies with a market capitalization between $2 billion and $10 billion that are also expected to exhibit more extensive growth opportunities for investors than their peers. A firm is typically considered to be a growth stock if it consistently posts impressive sales and/or earnings growth.
History of Fund/Manager
Hartford is responsible for HGOAX, and the company is based out of Woodbury, MN. Hartford Growth Opportunities A made its debut in March of 1963, and since then, HGOAX has accumulated about $2.98 billion in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund's current manager, Mario Abularach, has been in charge of the fund since March of 2006.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 16.67%, and is in the middle 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 4.63%, 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. The standard deviation of HGOAX over the past three years is 24.04% compared to the category average of 15.03%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 23.5% compared to the category average of 15.77%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
With a 5-year beta of 1.17, the fund is likely to be more volatile than 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 -0.62. This means 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, HGOAX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.14% compared to the category average of 0.95%. So, HGOAX is actually more expensive than its peers from a cost perspective.
Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $2,000; each subsequent investment needs to be at least $50.
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 similar performance, worse downside risk, and higher fees, Hartford Growth Opportunities A ( HGOAX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and therefore looks a somewhat average choice for investors right now.
Don't stop here for your research on Mid Cap Growth funds. We also have plenty more on our site in order to help you find the best possible fund for your portfolio. Make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for more information about the world of funds, and feel free to compare HGOAX to its peers as well 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.