Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Is Columbia Large Cap Enhanced Core A (NMIAX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

Read MoreHide Full Article

Any investors hoping to find a Large Cap Blend fund could think about starting with Columbia Large Cap Enhanced Core A (NMIAX - Free Report) . NMIAX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

NMIAX is classified in the Large Cap Blend segment by Zacks, which is an area full of potential. Targeting companies with market caps of more than $10 billion, Large Cap Blend mutual funds offer a stable investment choice; these funds are perfect for investors with a 'buy and hold' mindset. Since blended funds mix large, more established firms into their portfolios, investors are exposed to both value and growth opportunities.

History of Fund/Manager

Columbia is responsible for NMIAX, and the company is based out of Kansas City, MO. Columbia Large Cap Enhanced Core A made its debut in July of 1996, and since then, NMIAX has accumulated about $75.52 million in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund is currently managed by Raghavendran Sivaraman who has been in charge of the fund since December of 2019.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 13.63%, and it sits in the top third among its category peers. But if you are looking for a shorter time frame, it is also worth looking at its 3-year annualized total return of 22.09%, 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. The standard deviation of NMIAX over the past three years is 12.37% compared to the category average of 11.21%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 15.04% compared to the category average of 13.21%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

Investors should note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 0.96, which means 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. NMIAX has generated a negative alpha over the past five years of -0.22, demonstrating that 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, NMIAX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.83% compared to the category average of 0.89%. So, NMIAX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.

Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $2,000; each subsequent investment has no minimum amount.

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

Bottom Line

Overall, Columbia Large Cap Enhanced Core A ( NMIAX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Columbia Large Cap Enhanced Core A ( NMIAX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.

For additional information on the Large Cap Blend 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 NMIAX too 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.

Published in