If investors are looking at the Large Cap Growth fund category, T. Rowe Price Blue Chip Growth I (TBCIX Quick QuoteTBCIX - Free Report) could be a potential option. TBCIX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

We classify TBCIX in the Large Cap Growth category, an area rife with potential choices. Large Cap Growth funds invest in many large U.S. companies that are expected to grow much faster compared to other large-cap stocks. To be considered large-cap, companies must have a market cap over $10 billion.

History of Fund/Manager

T. Rowe Price is based in Baltimore, MD, and is the manager of TBCIX. T. Rowe Price Blue Chip Growth I debuted in December of 2015. Since then, TBCIX has accumulated assets of about $29 billion, according to the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by Paul Greene who has been in charge of the fund since October of 2021.

Performance

Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 15.27%, and it sits 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 7.76%, 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. The standard deviation of TBCIX over the past three years is 22.25% compared to the category average of 15.71%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 21.34% compared to the category average of 16.48%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

The fund has a 5-year beta of 1.07, 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. With a negative alpha of -0.79, managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

Expenses

For investors, taking a closer look at cost-related metrics is key, since costs are increasingly important for mutual fund investing. Competition is heating up in this space, and a lower cost product will likely outperform its otherwise identical counterpart, all things being equal. In terms of fees, TBCIX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.57% compared to the category average of 0.95%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, TBCIX is actually cheaper than its peers.

Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $500,000 and that each subsequent investment has no minimum amount.

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, average downside risk, and lower fees, T. Rowe Price Blue Chip Growth I ( TBCIX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and therefore looks a great potential choice for investors right now.

This could just be the start of your research on TBCIXin the Large Cap Growth 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. Zacks provides a full suite of tools to help you analyze your portfolio - both funds and stocks - in the most efficient way possible.