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Is MSIFT Mid Cap Growth Portfolio I (MPEGX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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If you've been stuck searching for Mid Cap Growth funds, consider MSIFT Mid Cap Growth Portfolio I (MPEGX - Free Report) as a possibility. MPEGX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
MPEGX is part of the Mid Cap Growth section, a segment that boasts a wide array of possible selections. While Mid Cap Growth mutual funds choose companies with a stock market valuation between $2 billion and $10 billion, stocks in these funds are also expected to show broad considerable growth opportunities for investors compared to their peers. To be considered a growth stock, companies must consistently report impressive sales and/or earnings growth.
History of Fund/Manager
MorgStanley is based in New York, NY, and is the manager of MPEGX. MSIFT Mid Cap Growth Portfolio I made its debut in March of 1990, and since then, MPEGX has accumulated about $417.92 million in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. A team of investment professionals is the fund's current manager.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 9.38%, and it sits in the middle third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 0.97%, 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. Over the past three years, MPEGX's standard deviation comes in at 36.21%, compared to the category average of 15.6%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 37.76% compared to the category average of 16.9%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
With a 5-year beta of 1.45, the fund is likely to be more volatile than the market average. 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. The fund has produced a negative alpha over the past 5 years of -7.54, which shows that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
Expenses
As competition heats up in the mutual fund market, costs become increasingly important. Compared to its otherwise identical counterpart, a low-cost product will be an outperformer, all other things being equal. Thus, taking a closer look at cost-related metrics is vital for investors. In terms of fees, MPEGX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.72% compared to the category average of 0.97%. So, MPEGX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.
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, MSIFT Mid Cap Growth Portfolio I ( MPEGX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, worse downside risk, and lower fees, MSIFT Mid Cap Growth Portfolio I ( MPEGX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
For additional information on the Mid Cap Growth area of the mutual fund world, make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds. There, you can see more about the ranking process, and dive even deeper into MPEGX too for additional information. If you are more of a stock investor, make sure to also check out our Zacks Rank, and our full suite of tools we have available for novice and professional investors alike.
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Is MSIFT Mid Cap Growth Portfolio I (MPEGX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
If you've been stuck searching for Mid Cap Growth funds, consider MSIFT Mid Cap Growth Portfolio I (MPEGX - Free Report) as a possibility. MPEGX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
MPEGX is part of the Mid Cap Growth section, a segment that boasts a wide array of possible selections. While Mid Cap Growth mutual funds choose companies with a stock market valuation between $2 billion and $10 billion, stocks in these funds are also expected to show broad considerable growth opportunities for investors compared to their peers. To be considered a growth stock, companies must consistently report impressive sales and/or earnings growth.
History of Fund/Manager
MorgStanley is based in New York, NY, and is the manager of MPEGX. MSIFT Mid Cap Growth Portfolio I made its debut in March of 1990, and since then, MPEGX has accumulated about $417.92 million in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. A team of investment professionals is the fund's current manager.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 9.38%, and it sits in the middle third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 0.97%, 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. Over the past three years, MPEGX's standard deviation comes in at 36.21%, compared to the category average of 15.6%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 37.76% compared to the category average of 16.9%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
With a 5-year beta of 1.45, the fund is likely to be more volatile than the market average. 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. The fund has produced a negative alpha over the past 5 years of -7.54, which shows that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
Expenses
As competition heats up in the mutual fund market, costs become increasingly important. Compared to its otherwise identical counterpart, a low-cost product will be an outperformer, all other things being equal. Thus, taking a closer look at cost-related metrics is vital for investors. In terms of fees, MPEGX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.72% compared to the category average of 0.97%. So, MPEGX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.
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, MSIFT Mid Cap Growth Portfolio I ( MPEGX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, worse downside risk, and lower fees, MSIFT Mid Cap Growth Portfolio I ( MPEGX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
For additional information on the Mid Cap Growth area of the mutual fund world, make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds. There, you can see more about the ranking process, and dive even deeper into MPEGX too for additional information. If you are more of a stock investor, make sure to also check out our Zacks Rank, and our full suite of tools we have available for novice and professional investors alike.