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Is Hartford Growth Opportunities A (HGOAX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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On the lookout for a Mutual Fund Equity Report fund? Starting with Hartford Growth Opportunities A (HGOAX - Free Report) should not be a possibility at this time. HGOAX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 5 (Strong Sell), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
History of Fund/Manager
Hartford is based in Woodbury, MN, and is the manager of HGOAX. The Hartford Growth Opportunities A made its debut in March of 1963 and HGOAX has managed to accumulate roughly $1.90 billion in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by Mario Abularach who has been in charge of the fund since March of 2006.
Performance
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 7.52%, and it sits in the bottom 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 4.56%, 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 17.17%, the standard deviation of HGOAX over the past three years is 25.98%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 23.37% compared to the category average of 15.12%. 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. HGOAX has a 5-year beta of 1.15, 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. HGOAX's 5-year performance has produced a negative alpha of -1.88, 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 principally on equities that are traded in the United States.
Currently, this mutual fund is holding 95.88% stock in stocks, which have an average market capitalization of $205.08 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
Technology
Retail Trade
With turnover at about 108%, this fund is making more trades per year than the comparable average.
Expenses
Costs are increasingly important for mutual fund investing, and particularly as competition heats up in this market. And all things being equal, a lower cost product will outperform its otherwise identical counterpart, so taking a closer look at these metrics is key for investors. In terms of fees, HGOAX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.07% compared to the category average of 1.15%. So, HGOAX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.
While the minimum initial investment for the product is $2,000, investors should also note that each subsequent investment needs to be at least $50.
Bottom Line
Overall, Hartford Growth Opportunities A ( HGOAX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, worse downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a somewhat weak choice for investors right now.
For additional information on the Mutual Fund Equity Report area of the mutual fund world, make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds. There, you can see more about the ranking process, and dive even deeper into HGOAX too 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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Is Hartford Growth Opportunities A (HGOAX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
On the lookout for a Mutual Fund Equity Report fund? Starting with Hartford Growth Opportunities A (HGOAX - Free Report) should not be a possibility at this time. HGOAX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 5 (Strong Sell), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
History of Fund/Manager
Hartford is based in Woodbury, MN, and is the manager of HGOAX. The Hartford Growth Opportunities A made its debut in March of 1963 and HGOAX has managed to accumulate roughly $1.90 billion in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by Mario Abularach who has been in charge of the fund since March of 2006.
Performance
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 7.52%, and it sits in the bottom 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 4.56%, 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 17.17%, the standard deviation of HGOAX over the past three years is 25.98%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 23.37% compared to the category average of 15.12%. 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. HGOAX has a 5-year beta of 1.15, 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. HGOAX's 5-year performance has produced a negative alpha of -1.88, 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 principally on equities that are traded in the United States.
Currently, this mutual fund is holding 95.88% stock in stocks, which have an average market capitalization of $205.08 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
- Technology
- Retail Trade
With turnover at about 108%, this fund is making more trades per year than the comparable average.Expenses
Costs are increasingly important for mutual fund investing, and particularly as competition heats up in this market. And all things being equal, a lower cost product will outperform its otherwise identical counterpart, so taking a closer look at these metrics is key for investors. In terms of fees, HGOAX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.07% compared to the category average of 1.15%. So, HGOAX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.
While the minimum initial investment for the product is $2,000, investors should also note that each subsequent investment needs to be at least $50.
Bottom Line
Overall, Hartford Growth Opportunities A ( HGOAX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, worse downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a somewhat weak choice for investors right now.
For additional information on the Mutual Fund Equity Report area of the mutual fund world, make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds. There, you can see more about the ranking process, and dive even deeper into HGOAX too 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.