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Large Cap Growth fund seekers should not consider taking a look at PRIMECAP Odyssey Stock Fund (POSKX) at this time. POSKX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 4 (Sell), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
POSKX 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
Primecap Odyssey is based in Pasadena, CA, and is the manager of POSKX. The PRIMECAP Odyssey Stock Fund made its debut in November of 2004 and POSKX has managed to accumulate roughly $9.56 billion in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 9.41%, and is in the top 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 11.24%, 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. Over the past three years, POSKX's standard deviation comes in at 14.39%, compared to the category average of 12.09%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 13.67% compared to the category average of 12.11%. 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 the most recent bear market, POSKX lost 45.4% and outperformed its peer group by 4%. This could mean that the fund is a better choice than comparable funds during a bear market.
Even still, the fund has a 5-year beta of 1.1, so investors should note that it is hypothetically more volatile than the market at large. 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. With a negative alpha of -1.34, managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.