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Is MFS Growth Fund A (MFEGX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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On the lookout for an All Cap Growth fund? Starting with MFS Growth Fund A (MFEGX - Free Report) is one possibility. MFEGX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
Tickers is classified in the All Cap Growth segment by Zacks, an area full of possibilities. All Cap Growth funds have holdings across small, medium, and large-cap levels in order to increase diversification. As long as stocks demonstrate strong growth characteristics, these portfolios will invest in various equity securities regardless of company size.
History of Fund/Manager
MFS is based in Boston, MA, and is the manager of MFEGX. MFS Growth Fund A made its debut in December of 1986, and since then, MFEGX has accumulated about $5.24 billion in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund's current manager, Eric B. Fischman, has been in charge of the fund since April of 2002.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. MFEGX has a 5-year annualized total return of 9.69% and is in the top third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 10.95%, which places it in the top 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. Compared to the category average of 8.86%, the standard deviation of MFEGX over the past three years is 12.44%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 12.15% compared to the category average of 9%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
Investors cannot discount the risks to this segment though, as it is always important to remember the downside for any potential investment. In the most recent bear market, MFEGX lost 46.4% and outperformed its peer group by 2.38%. These results could imply that the fund is a better choice than its peers during a sliding market environment.
Nevertheless, investors should also note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 1, which means it is hypothetically as volatile as the market at large. Alpha is an additional metric to take into consideration, since it represents a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which in this case, is the S&P 500. With a positive alpha of 1.28, managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking 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 primarily on equities that are traded in the United States.
Right now, 75.33% of this mutual fund's holdings are stocks, with an average market capitalization of $293.77 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
Technology
Retail Trade
Turnover is 18%, which means this fund makes fewer trades than comparable funds.
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, MFEGX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.91% compared to the category average of 1.10%. So, MFEGX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.
Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $1,000 and that each subsequent investment needs to be at $50.
Bottom Line
Overall, MFS Growth Fund A ( MFEGX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, MFS Growth Fund A ( MFEGX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
This could just be the start of your research on MFEGXin the All 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. Want to learn even more? We have a full suite of tools on stocks that you can use to find the best choices for your portfolio too, no matter what kind of investor you are.
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Is MFS Growth Fund A (MFEGX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
On the lookout for an All Cap Growth fund? Starting with MFS Growth Fund A (MFEGX - Free Report) is one possibility. MFEGX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
Tickers is classified in the All Cap Growth segment by Zacks, an area full of possibilities. All Cap Growth funds have holdings across small, medium, and large-cap levels in order to increase diversification. As long as stocks demonstrate strong growth characteristics, these portfolios will invest in various equity securities regardless of company size.
History of Fund/Manager
MFS is based in Boston, MA, and is the manager of MFEGX. MFS Growth Fund A made its debut in December of 1986, and since then, MFEGX has accumulated about $5.24 billion in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund's current manager, Eric B. Fischman, has been in charge of the fund since April of 2002.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. MFEGX has a 5-year annualized total return of 9.69% and is in the top third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 10.95%, which places it in the top 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. Compared to the category average of 8.86%, the standard deviation of MFEGX over the past three years is 12.44%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 12.15% compared to the category average of 9%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
Investors cannot discount the risks to this segment though, as it is always important to remember the downside for any potential investment. In the most recent bear market, MFEGX lost 46.4% and outperformed its peer group by 2.38%. These results could imply that the fund is a better choice than its peers during a sliding market environment.
Nevertheless, investors should also note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 1, which means it is hypothetically as volatile as the market at large. Alpha is an additional metric to take into consideration, since it represents a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which in this case, is the S&P 500. With a positive alpha of 1.28, managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking 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 primarily on equities that are traded in the United States.
Right now, 75.33% of this mutual fund's holdings are stocks, with an average market capitalization of $293.77 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
- Technology
- Retail Trade
Turnover is 18%, which means this fund makes fewer trades than comparable funds.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, MFEGX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.91% compared to the category average of 1.10%. So, MFEGX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.
Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $1,000 and that each subsequent investment needs to be at $50.
Bottom Line
Overall, MFS Growth Fund A ( MFEGX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, MFS Growth Fund A ( MFEGX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
This could just be the start of your research on MFEGXin the All 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. Want to learn even more? We have a full suite of tools on stocks that you can use to find the best choices for your portfolio too, no matter what kind of investor you are.