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Is TIAA-CREF Large Cap Value Premier (TRCPX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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If you've been stuck searching for Large Cap Value funds, you might want to consider passing on by TIAA-CREF Large Cap Value Premier (TRCPX - Free Report) as a possibility. TRCPX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 4 (Sell), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

Large Cap Value mutual funds invest in stocks with a market capitalization of $10 billion or more, but whose share prices do not reflect their intrinsic value; this value investing strategy often leads to low P/E ratios and high dividend yields, though growth levels are often curtailed. The high-growth opportunity of these funds are slowed even further, as large-cap securities are generally in stable industries with low to moderate growth prospects. Therefore, Large Cap Value funds are usually more appealing to investors who are interested in a stable income stream.

History of Fund/Manager

TRCPX is a part of the TIAA-CREF family of funds, a company based out of Boston, MA. TIAA-CREF Large Cap Value Premier made its debut in September of 2009, and since then, TRCPX has accumulated about $209.13 million in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund is currently managed by Richard Cutler who has been in charge of the fund since September of 2009.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 6.22%, and it sits in the bottom third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 8.83%, 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 9.4%, the standard deviation of TRCPX over the past three years is 12.01%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 12.46% compared to the category average of 9.76%. 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.

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. 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. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a negative alpha of -5.27. This means that 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 mostly on equities that are traded in the United States.

As of the last filing date, the mutual fund has 96.45% of its assets in stocks, which have an average market capitalization of $148.71 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:

  1. Finance
  2. Technology
  3. Industrial Cyclical
  4. Health
Turnover is about 53%, so those in charge of the fund make roughly the same amount of trades as comparable funds in a given year.

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, TRCPX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.55% compared to the category average of 0.99%. TRCPX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.

Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $0; each subsequent investment has no minimum amount.

Bottom Line

Overall, TIAA-CREF Large Cap Value Premier ( TRCPX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, weak performance, average downside risk, and lower fees compared to its peers.

Your research on the Large Cap Value segment doesn't have to stop here. You can check out all the great mutual fund tools we have to offer by going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds to see the additional features we offer as well 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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