There are plenty of choices in the Mutual Fund Equity Report category, but where should you start your research? Well, one fund that might be worth investigating is T. Rowe Price Blue Chip Growth Fund (TRBCX). TRBCX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
History of Fund/Manager
T. Rowe Price is responsible for TRBCX, and the company is based out of Baltimore, MD. T. Rowe Price Blue Chip Growth Fund made its debut in June of 1993, and since then, TRBCX has accumulated about $28.16 billion in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund is currently managed by Paul Greene who has been in charge of the fund since October of 2021.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 9.27%, and is 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 1.44%, which places it in the bottom third during this time-frame.
It is important to note that the product's returns may not reflect all its expenses. Any fees not reflected would lower the returns. Total returns do not reflect the fund's [%] sale charge. If sales charges were included, total returns would have been lower.
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. TRBCX's standard deviation over the past three years is 21.77% compared to the category average of 15.62%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 21.56% compared to the category average of 16.52%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
The fund has a 5-year beta of 1.06, 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. TRBCX's 5-year performance has produced a negative alpha of -1.58, which means managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
Holdings
Exploring 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.