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If investors are looking at the Sector - Tech fund category, T. Rowe Price Science & Technology Fund (PRSCX) could be a potential option. PRSCX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
The world of Sector - Tech funds is an area filled with options, and PRSCX is one of them. Sector - Tech mutual funds allow investors to own a stake in a notoriously volatile sector with a much more diversified approach. Tech companies can be in any number of industries such as semiconductors, software, internet, networking just to name a few.
History of Fund/Manager
T. Rowe Price is based in Baltimore, MD, and is the manager of PRSCX. Since T. Rowe Price Science & Technology Fund made its debut in September of 1987, PRSCX has garnered more than $5.90 billion in assets. The fund is currently managed by Anthony Wang who has been in charge of the fund since October of 2023.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 16.56%, and is in the middle 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 14.66%, which places it in the top 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. PRSCX's standard deviation over the past three years is 23.89% compared to the category average of 18.04%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 22.96% compared to the category average of 18.61%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
Investors should not forget about beta, an important way to measure a mutual fund's risk compared to the market as a whole. PRSCX has a 5-year beta of 1.06, 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. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a positive alpha of 1.44. This means that managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.