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Is Glenmede Large Cap Growth Fund (GTLLX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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Having trouble finding a Large Cap Growth fund? Glenmede Large Cap Growth Fund (GTLLX - Free Report) is a potential starting point. GTLLX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

GTLLX 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

Glenmede is based in Philadelphia, PA, and is the manager of GTLLX. Glenmede Large Cap Growth Fund debuted in March of 2004. Since then, GTLLX has accumulated assets of about $3.02 billion, according to the most recently available information. Vladimir de Vassal is the fund's current manager and has held that role since March of 2004.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 15.89%, and it sits in the top 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 17.08%, 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. Over the past three years, GTLLX's standard deviation comes in at 9.81%, compared to the category average of 11.88%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 10.19% compared to the category average of 11.33%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

One cannot ignore the volatility of this segment, however, as it is always important for investors to remember the downside to any potential investment. GTLLX lost 49.7% in the most recent bear market and outperformed its peer group by 0.73%. This might suggest that the fund is a better choice than its peers during a bear market.

Nevertheless, investors should also note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 1.02, which means it is hypothetically as volatile as 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. GTLLX has generated a positive alpha over the past five years of 1.53, demonstrating that managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

Expenses

Costs are increasingly important for mutual fund investing, and particularly as competition heats up in this market. And all things being equal, a lower cost product will outperform its otherwise identical counterpart, so taking a closer look at these metrics is key for investors. In terms of fees, GTLLX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.86% compared to the category average of 1.10%. From a cost perspective, GTLLX is actually cheaper than its peers.

Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $1,000 and that each subsequent investment has no minimum amount.

Bottom Line

Overall, Glenmede Large Cap Growth Fund ( GTLLX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.

Want even more information about GTLLX? 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. For analysis of the rest of your portfolio, make sure to visit Zacks.com for our full suite of tools which will help you investigate all of your stocks and funds in one place.


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