Any investors hoping to find a Large Cap Blend fund might consider looking past Hartford Capital Appreciation A (ITHAX Quick QuoteITHAX - Free Report) . ITHAX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 4 (Sell), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

ITHAX is part of the Large Cap Blend section, an area that boasts an array of many possible options. Large Cap Blend mutual funds most often invest in firms with a market capitalization of $10 billion or more. By investing in bigger companies, these funds offer more stability, and are often well-suited for investors with a " buy and hold " mindset. Blended funds mix large, established companies into their holdings, which gives investors exposure to both value and growth at the same time.

History of Fund/Manager

ITHAX finds itself in the Hartford family, based out of Woodbury, MN. Hartford Capital Appreciation A debuted in July of 1996. Since then, ITHAX has accumulated assets of about $4.96 billion, according to the most recently available information. Gregg R. Thomas is the fund's current manager and has held that role since March of 2013.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 8.76%, and it sits in the middle third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 14.52%, 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 9.56%, the standard deviation of ITHAX over the past three years is 12.4%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 12.96% compared to the category average of 9.73%. 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. In the most recent bear market, ITHAX lost 56.23% and underperformed comparable funds by 6.93%. These results could imply that the fund is a worse choice than its peers during a sliding market environment.

Investors should not forget about beta, an important way to measure a mutual fund's risk compared to the market as a whole. ITHAX has a 5-year beta of 1.04, which means it is likely to be more volatile than the market average. Another factor to consider is alpha, as it reflects a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark-in this case, the S&P 500. The fund has produced a negative alpha over the past 5 years of -2.06, which shows 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 largely on equities that are traded in the United States.

Currently, this mutual fund is holding 87.05% stock in stocks, which have an average market capitalization of $118.99 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:

1. Technology
2. Finance
3. Industrial Cyclical
4. Non-Durable

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, ITHAX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.06% compared to the category average of 0.96%. So, ITHAX is actually more expensive than its peers from a cost perspective.

This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $2,000, and each subsequent investment should be at least $50.

Bottom Line

Overall, Hartford Capital Appreciation A ( ITHAX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, similar performance, average downside risk, and higher fees compared to its peers.

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