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Is ClearBridge Aggressive Growth A (SHRAX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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Large Cap Growth fund seekers should not consider taking a look at ClearBridge Aggressive Growth A (SHRAX - Free Report) at this time. SHRAX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 4 (Sell), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
SHRAX is part of the Large Cap Growth section, and this segment boasts an array of other possible options. Large Cap Growth mutual funds purchase stakes in numerous large U.S. companies that are expected to develop and grow at a faster rate than other large-cap stocks. Companies are usually considered to be large-cap if their market capitalization is over $10 billion.
History of Fund/Manager
SHRAX finds itself in the Legg Mason family, based out of Baltimore, MD. The ClearBridge Aggressive Growth A made its debut in October of 1983 and SHRAX has managed to accumulate roughly $5.33 billion in assets, as of the most recently available information. Richard Freeman is the fund's current manager and has held that role since October of 1983.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 4.95%, 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 8.18%, which places it in the bottom 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 standard deviation of SHRAX over the past three years is 14.88% compared to the category average of 9.76%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 14.25% compared to the category average of 9.64%. This makes the fund more 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. SHRAX lost 51.89% in the most recent bear market and underperformed its peer group by 3.05%. This might suggest that the fund is a worse choice than its peers during a bear market.
Investors should not forget about beta, an important way to measure a mutual fund's risk compared to the market as a whole. SHRAX has a 5-year beta of 1.16, which means it is likely to be more volatile than the market average. 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. The fund has produced a negative alpha over the past 5 years of -6.58, which shows 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, SHRAX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.12% compared to the category average of 1.05%. So, SHRAX is actually more expensive than its peers from a cost perspective.
Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $1,000; each subsequent investment needs to be at least $50.
Bottom Line
Overall, ClearBridge Aggressive Growth A ( SHRAX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, weak performance, average downside risk, and higher fees compared to its peers.
For additional information on the Large 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 SHRAX 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 ClearBridge Aggressive Growth A (SHRAX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
Large Cap Growth fund seekers should not consider taking a look at ClearBridge Aggressive Growth A (SHRAX - Free Report) at this time. SHRAX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 4 (Sell), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
SHRAX is part of the Large Cap Growth section, and this segment boasts an array of other possible options. Large Cap Growth mutual funds purchase stakes in numerous large U.S. companies that are expected to develop and grow at a faster rate than other large-cap stocks. Companies are usually considered to be large-cap if their market capitalization is over $10 billion.
History of Fund/Manager
SHRAX finds itself in the Legg Mason family, based out of Baltimore, MD. The ClearBridge Aggressive Growth A made its debut in October of 1983 and SHRAX has managed to accumulate roughly $5.33 billion in assets, as of the most recently available information. Richard Freeman is the fund's current manager and has held that role since October of 1983.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 4.95%, 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 8.18%, which places it in the bottom 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 standard deviation of SHRAX over the past three years is 14.88% compared to the category average of 9.76%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 14.25% compared to the category average of 9.64%. This makes the fund more 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. SHRAX lost 51.89% in the most recent bear market and underperformed its peer group by 3.05%. This might suggest that the fund is a worse choice than its peers during a bear market.
Investors should not forget about beta, an important way to measure a mutual fund's risk compared to the market as a whole. SHRAX has a 5-year beta of 1.16, which means it is likely to be more volatile than the market average. 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. The fund has produced a negative alpha over the past 5 years of -6.58, which shows 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, SHRAX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.12% compared to the category average of 1.05%. So, SHRAX is actually more expensive than its peers from a cost perspective.
Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $1,000; each subsequent investment needs to be at least $50.
Bottom Line
Overall, ClearBridge Aggressive Growth A ( SHRAX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, weak performance, average downside risk, and higher fees compared to its peers.
For additional information on the Large 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 SHRAX 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.