Having trouble finding a Large Cap Growth fund? ClearBridge Large Cap Growth A (SBLGX Quick QuoteSBLGX - Free Report) is a potential starting point. SBLGX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

SBLGX is classified in the Large Cap Growth segment by Zacks, an area full of possibilities. Companies are usually considered to be large-cap if their stock market valuation is more than $10 billion. Large Cap Growth mutual funds invest in many large U.S. firms that are projected to grow at a faster rate than their large-cap peers.

History of Fund/Manager

SBLGX is a part of the Franklin family of funds, a company based out of San Mateo, CA. ClearBridge Large Cap Growth A made its debut in August of 1997, and since then, SBLGX has accumulated about $3.82 billion in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund is currently managed by Margaret B. Vitrano who has been in charge of the fund since October of 2012.

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 13.75%, and it sits 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 19.08%, 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. SBLGX's standard deviation over the past three years is 19.38% compared to the category average of 14.74%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 19.59% compared to the category average of 14.56%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

Investors should not forget about beta, an important way to measure a mutual fund's risk compared to the market as a whole. SBLGX has a 5-year beta of 1.15, which means it 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. With a negative alpha of -3.23, managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

Holdings

Exploring the equity holdings of a mutual fund is also a valuable exercise. This can show us how the manager is applying their stated methodology, as well as if there are any inherent biases in their approach. For this particular fund, the focus is mostly on equities that are traded in the United States.

As of the last filing date, the mutual fund has 85.31% of its assets in stocks, with an average market capitalization of $567.82 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:

• Technology
• Retail Trade

Turnover is 16%, which means, on average, the fund makes fewer trades than comparable funds.

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, SBLGX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.01% compared to the category average of 0.94%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, SBLGX is actually more expensive than its peers.

Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $1,000; 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, ClearBridge Large Cap Growth A ( SBLGX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and therefore looks a good potential choice for investors right now.

For additional information on this product, or to compare it to other mutual funds in the Large Cap Growth, make sure to go to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for additional information. And don't forget, Zacks has all of your needs covered on the equity side too! Make sure to check out Zacks.com for more information on our screening capabilities, Rank, and all our articles as well.