Mid Cap Growth fund seekers should consider taking a look at T. Rowe Price Mid-Cap Growth Fund (RPMGX Quick QuoteRPMGX - Free Report) . RPMGX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

We note that RPMGX is a Mid Cap Growth fund, and this area is also loaded with many different options. Companies are usually considered growth stocks when they consistently report notable sales and/or earnings growth. Thus, Mid Cap Growth funds pick stocks--usually companies with a market cap between $2 billion and $10 billion--that demonstrate extensive growth opportunities for investors compared to their peers.

History of Fund/Manager

T. Rowe Price is based in Baltimore, MD, and is the manager of RPMGX. Since T. Rowe Price Mid-Cap Growth Fund made its debut in June of 1992, RPMGX has garnered more than $12.13 billion in assets. The fund's current manager is a team of investment professionals.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. RPMGX has a 5-year annualized total return of 8.78% and is in the bottom third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 5.97%, 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. RPMGX's standard deviation over the past three years is 18.07% compared to the category average of 16.02%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 20.22% compared to the category average of 16.89%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

The fund has a 5-year beta of 1.05, so investors should note that it is hypothetically more volatile than the market at large. Alpha is an additional metric to take into consideration, since it represents a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which in this case, is the S&P 500. RPMGX's 5-year performance has produced a negative alpha of -5.8, which means 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, RPMGX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.75% compared to the category average of 0.97%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, RPMGX is actually cheaper than its peers.

Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $2,500; each subsequent investment needs to be at least $100.

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 Mid-Cap Growth Fund ( RPMGX ) 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 RPMGXin the Mid 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. For analysis of the rest of your portfolio, make sure to visit Zacks.com for our full suite of tools which will help you investigate all of your stocks and funds in one place.