Having trouble finding a Large Cap Growth fund? Well, ClearBridge Large Cap Growth A (SBLGX Quick QuoteSBLGX - Free Report) would not be a good potential starting point right now. SBLGX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 5 (Strong Sell), 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

Franklin is based in San Mateo, CA, and is the manager of SBLGX. Since ClearBridge Large Cap Growth A made its debut in August of 1997, SBLGX has garnered more than $3.57 billion in assets. Margaret Vitrano is the fund's current manager and has held that role since October of 2012.

Performance

Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 8.43%, and it sits in the bottom 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 15.66%, 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, SBLGX's standard deviation comes in at 15.32%, compared to the category average of 11.73%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 18.83% compared to the category average of 13.81%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

The fund has a 5-year beta of 1.15, so investors should note that it is hypothetically more volatile than the market at large. 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. SBLGX has generated a negative alpha over the past five years of -5.32, demonstrating 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, SBLGX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.01% compared to the category average of 0.93%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, SBLGX is actually more expensive than its peers.

This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $1,000, and each subsequent investment should be at least $50.

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

Bottom Line

Overall, ClearBridge Large Cap Growth A ( SBLGX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, worse downside risk, and higher fees, ClearBridge Large Cap Growth A ( SBLGX ) looks like a somewhat weak choice for investors right now.

This could just be the start of your research on SBLGX in the Large Cap Growth category. Consider going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for additional information about this fund, and all the others that we rank as well 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.