If investors are looking at the Sector - Tech fund category, make sure to pass over BNY Mellon Tech Growth A (DTGRX Quick QuoteDTGRX - Free Report) . DTGRX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 4 (Sell), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

DTGRX is part of the Sector - Tech category, which boasts an array of different possible selections. With a much more diversified approach, Sector - Tech mutual funds give investors a way to own a stake in a notoriously risky sector. Tech companies are in various industries like semiconductors, software, internet, and networking, among others.

History of Fund/Manager

DTGRX is a part of the BNY Mellon family of funds, a company based out of New York, NY. The BNY Mellon Tech Growth A made its debut in October of 1997 and DTGRX has managed to accumulate roughly $421.16 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. Robert Zeuthen is the fund's current manager and has held that role since March of 2022.

Performance

Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 11.22%, and is 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 35.01%, which places it in the top 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. DTGRX's standard deviation over the past three years is 22.99% compared to the category average of 12.89%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 24.94% compared to the category average of 13.32%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

With a 5-year beta of 1.35, 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 -7.23. This means that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

Holdings

Investigating 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 principally on equities that are traded in the United States.

Currently, this mutual fund is holding 75.78% in stocks, which have an average market capitalization of $522.87 billion.

This fund's turnover is about 41.6%, so the fund managers are making fewer trades than its comparable peers.

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, DTGRX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.17% compared to the category average of 0.92%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, DTGRX is actually more expensive than its peers.

While the minimum initial investment for the product is $1,000, investors should also note that each subsequent investment needs to be at least $100.

Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into consideration. Returns would be less if those were included.

Bottom Line

Overall, BNY Mellon Tech Growth A ( DTGRX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, worse downside risk, and higher fees, BNY Mellon Tech Growth A ( DTGRX ) looks like a poor potential choice for investors right now.

Want even more information about DTGRX? Then go over to Zacks.com and check out our mutual fund comparison tool, and all of the other great features that we have to help you with your mutual fund analysis 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.