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Is MassMutual Select Mid Cap Growth I (MEFZX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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On the lookout for a Mid Cap Growth fund? Starting with MassMutual Select Mid Cap Growth I (MEFZX - Free Report) is one possibility. MEFZX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
MEFZX is part of the Mid Cap Growth section, a segment that boasts a wide array of possible selections. While Mid Cap Growth mutual funds choose companies with a stock market valuation between $2 billion and $10 billion, stocks in these funds are also expected to show broad considerable growth opportunities for investors compared to their peers. To be considered a growth stock, companies must consistently report impressive sales and/or earnings growth.
History of Fund/Manager
MassMutual is responsible for MEFZX, and the company is based out of Springfield, MA. MassMutual Select Mid Cap Growth I made its debut in November of 2010, and since then, MEFZX has accumulated about $5.44 billion in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund's current manager, Brian W.H. Berghuis, has been in charge of the fund since November of 2010.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 9.6%, and it sits in the middle 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 17.01%, 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. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 13.23% compared to the category average of 1.18%. This makes the fund more 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.
Even still, the fund has a 5-year beta of 1.05, so investors should note that it is hypothetically more 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. MEFZX's 5-year performance has produced a negative alpha of -1.16, which means managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick 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 principally on equities that are traded in the United States.
Right now, 96.19% of this mutual fund's holdings are stocks, and these companies have an average market capitalization of $14.77 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
Technology
Other
Industrial Cyclical
Turnover is 34%, which means, on average, the fund makes 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, MEFZX is a no load fund and it has an expense ratio of 0.71%.
Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $0; each subsequent investment has no minimum amount.
Bottom Line
This puts this fund from MassMutual in the top 20% of all mutual funds we have a rank on right now. As a result, this is likely an excellent choice for investors seeking an option in the Mid Cap Growth category.
For additional information on the Mid Cap Growth 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 MEFZX too for additional information. If you want to check out our stock reports as well, make sure to go to Zacks.com to see all of the great tools we have to offer, including our time-tested Zacks Rank.
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Is MassMutual Select Mid Cap Growth I (MEFZX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
On the lookout for a Mid Cap Growth fund? Starting with MassMutual Select Mid Cap Growth I (MEFZX - Free Report) is one possibility. MEFZX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
MEFZX is part of the Mid Cap Growth section, a segment that boasts a wide array of possible selections. While Mid Cap Growth mutual funds choose companies with a stock market valuation between $2 billion and $10 billion, stocks in these funds are also expected to show broad considerable growth opportunities for investors compared to their peers. To be considered a growth stock, companies must consistently report impressive sales and/or earnings growth.
History of Fund/Manager
MassMutual is responsible for MEFZX, and the company is based out of Springfield, MA. MassMutual Select Mid Cap Growth I made its debut in November of 2010, and since then, MEFZX has accumulated about $5.44 billion in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund's current manager, Brian W.H. Berghuis, has been in charge of the fund since November of 2010.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 9.6%, and it sits in the middle 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 17.01%, 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. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 13.23% compared to the category average of 1.18%. This makes the fund more 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.
Even still, the fund has a 5-year beta of 1.05, so investors should note that it is hypothetically more 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. MEFZX's 5-year performance has produced a negative alpha of -1.16, which means managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick 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 principally on equities that are traded in the United States.
Right now, 96.19% of this mutual fund's holdings are stocks, and these companies have an average market capitalization of $14.77 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
- Technology
- Other
- Industrial Cyclical
Turnover is 34%, which means, on average, the fund makes 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, MEFZX is a no load fund and it has an expense ratio of 0.71%.
Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $0; each subsequent investment has no minimum amount.
Bottom Line
This puts this fund from MassMutual in the top 20% of all mutual funds we have a rank on right now. As a result, this is likely an excellent choice for investors seeking an option in the Mid Cap Growth category.
For additional information on the Mid Cap Growth 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 MEFZX too for additional information. If you want to check out our stock reports as well, make sure to go to Zacks.com to see all of the great tools we have to offer, including our time-tested Zacks Rank.