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Is TIAA-CREF Growth & Income Retirement (TRGIX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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If you've been stuck searching for Large Cap Growth funds, consider TIAA-CREF Growth & Income Retirement (TRGIX - Free Report) as a possibility. TRGIX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
TRGIX 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
TRGIX is a part of the TIAA-CREF family of funds, a company based out of Boston, MA. TIAA-CREF Growth & Income Retirement made its debut in December of 2002, and since then, TRGIX has accumulated about $553.82 million in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund's current manager, Susan Kempler, has been in charge of the fund since March of 2005.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 11.02%, and it sits in the bottom 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 14.29%, 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. Compared to the category average of 9.82%, the standard deviation of TRGIX over the past three years is 11.91%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 12.24% compared to the category average of 10.14%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
It's always important to be aware of the downsides to any future investment, so one should not discount the risks that come with this segment. In TRGIX's case, the fund lost 45.92% in the most recent bear market and outperformed its peer group by 2.94%. This might suggest that the fund is a better choice than its peers during a bear market.
Investors should note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 1.07, so it is likely going to be 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. With a negative alpha of -1.15, managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
Holdings
Examining 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 mostly on equities that are traded in the United States.
This fund is currently holding about 98.43% stock in stocks, with an average market capitalization of $197.79 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
Technology
Finance
Non-Durable
Health
With turnover at about 59%, this fund makes fewer trades than its comparable peers.
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, TRGIX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.65% compared to the category average of 1.06%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, TRGIX is actually cheaper than its peers.
This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $0, while there is no minimum for each subsequent investment.
Bottom Line
Overall, TIAA-CREF Growth & Income Retirement ( TRGIX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, weak performance, average downside risk, and lower fees compared to its peers.
This could just be the start of your research on TRGIXin 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. And don't forget, Zacks has all of your needs covered on the equity side too! Make sure to check out Zacks.com for more information on our screening capabilities, Rank, and all our articles as well.
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Is TIAA-CREF Growth & Income Retirement (TRGIX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
If you've been stuck searching for Large Cap Growth funds, consider TIAA-CREF Growth & Income Retirement (TRGIX - Free Report) as a possibility. TRGIX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
TRGIX 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
TRGIX is a part of the TIAA-CREF family of funds, a company based out of Boston, MA. TIAA-CREF Growth & Income Retirement made its debut in December of 2002, and since then, TRGIX has accumulated about $553.82 million in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund's current manager, Susan Kempler, has been in charge of the fund since March of 2005.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 11.02%, and it sits in the bottom 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 14.29%, 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. Compared to the category average of 9.82%, the standard deviation of TRGIX over the past three years is 11.91%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 12.24% compared to the category average of 10.14%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
It's always important to be aware of the downsides to any future investment, so one should not discount the risks that come with this segment. In TRGIX's case, the fund lost 45.92% in the most recent bear market and outperformed its peer group by 2.94%. This might suggest that the fund is a better choice than its peers during a bear market.
Investors should note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 1.07, so it is likely going to be 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. With a negative alpha of -1.15, managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
Holdings
Examining 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 mostly on equities that are traded in the United States.
This fund is currently holding about 98.43% stock in stocks, with an average market capitalization of $197.79 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
- Technology
- Finance
- Non-Durable
- Health
With turnover at about 59%, this fund makes fewer trades than its comparable peers.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, TRGIX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.65% compared to the category average of 1.06%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, TRGIX is actually cheaper than its peers.
This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $0, while there is no minimum for each subsequent investment.
Bottom Line
Overall, TIAA-CREF Growth & Income Retirement ( TRGIX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, weak performance, average downside risk, and lower fees compared to its peers.
This could just be the start of your research on TRGIXin 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. And don't forget, Zacks has all of your needs covered on the equity side too! Make sure to check out Zacks.com for more information on our screening capabilities, Rank, and all our articles as well.