Having trouble finding a Large Cap Growth fund? Wells Fargo Endeavor Select A is a potential starting point. STAEX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
We classify STAEX 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
STAEX finds itself in the Wells Fargo family, based out of San Francisco, CA. Wells Fargo Endeavor Select A debuted in December of 2000. Since then, STAEX has accumulated assets of about $13.20 million, according to the most recently available information. The fund's current manager, Michael T. Smith, has been in charge of the fund since February of 2010.
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 13.72%, 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 11.84%, which places it in the middle third during this time-frame.
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. STAEX's standard deviation over the past three years is 11.18% compared to the category average of 9.31%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 10.91% compared to the category average of 10.92%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
Investors should always remember the downsides to a potential investment, and this segment carries some risks one should be aware of. STAEX lost 50.91% in the most recent bear market and underperformed comparable funds by 2.02%. This could mean that the fund is a worse choice than comparable funds during a bear market.
Even still, the fund has a 5-year beta of 0.96, so investors should note that it is hypothetically less 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. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a negative alpha of -1.11. This means that 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.
This fund is currently holding about 88.32% stock in stocks, with an average market capitalization of $221.66 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
- Technology
- Finance
Turnover is about 53.34%, so those in charge of the fund make fewer trades than the average comparable fund.
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, STAEX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.22% compared to the category average of 1.12%. From a cost perspective, STAEX is actually more expensive than its peers.
Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $1,000 and that each subsequent investment needs to be at $100.
Bottom Line
Overall, Wells Fargo Endeavor Select A has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, average downside risk, and higher fees, Wells Fargo Endeavor Select A looks like 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.
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Is Wells Fargo Endeavor Select A (STAEX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
Having trouble finding a Large Cap Growth fund? Wells Fargo Endeavor Select A is a potential starting point. STAEX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
We classify STAEX 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
STAEX finds itself in the Wells Fargo family, based out of San Francisco, CA. Wells Fargo Endeavor Select A debuted in December of 2000. Since then, STAEX has accumulated assets of about $13.20 million, according to the most recently available information. The fund's current manager, Michael T. Smith, has been in charge of the fund since February of 2010.
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 13.72%, 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 11.84%, which places it in the middle third during this time-frame.
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. STAEX's standard deviation over the past three years is 11.18% compared to the category average of 9.31%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 10.91% compared to the category average of 10.92%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
Investors should always remember the downsides to a potential investment, and this segment carries some risks one should be aware of. STAEX lost 50.91% in the most recent bear market and underperformed comparable funds by 2.02%. This could mean that the fund is a worse choice than comparable funds during a bear market.
Even still, the fund has a 5-year beta of 0.96, so investors should note that it is hypothetically less 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. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a negative alpha of -1.11. This means that 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.
This fund is currently holding about 88.32% stock in stocks, with an average market capitalization of $221.66 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
Turnover is about 53.34%, so those in charge of the fund make fewer trades than the average comparable fund.
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, STAEX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.22% compared to the category average of 1.12%. From a cost perspective, STAEX is actually more expensive than its peers.
Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $1,000 and that each subsequent investment needs to be at $100.
Bottom Line
Overall, Wells Fargo Endeavor Select A has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, average downside risk, and higher fees, Wells Fargo Endeavor Select A looks like 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.