Any investors hoping to find a Mutual Fund Equity Report fund might consider looking past Edgewood Growth Fund Retail (EGFFX Quick QuoteEGFFX - Free Report) . EGFFX bears 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

Edgewood is based in Kansas City, MO, and is the manager of EGFFX. The Edgewood Growth Fund Retail made its debut in March of 2006 and EGFFX has managed to accumulate roughly $723.01 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. A team of investment professionals is the fund's current manager.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 7.16%, and it sits in the bottom third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 2.87%, 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. Over the past three years, EGFFX's standard deviation comes in at 24.73%, compared to the category average of 20%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 21.37% compared to the category average of 17.65%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

The fund has a 5-year beta of 1.05, 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. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a negative alpha of -2.86. This means that 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.

Currently, this mutual fund is holding 95.73% stock in stocks, with an average market capitalization of $242.60 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:

1. Technology
2. Non-Durable

Expenses

As competition heats up in the mutual fund market, costs become increasingly important. Compared to its otherwise identical counterpart, a low-cost product will be an outperformer, all other things being equal. Thus, taking a closer look at cost-related metrics is vital for investors. In terms of fees, EGFFX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.40% compared to the category average of 0.99%. From a cost perspective, EGFFX is actually more expensive than its peers.

While the minimum initial investment for the product is $3,000, investors should also note that there is no minimum for each subsequent investment.

Bottom Line

Overall, Edgewood Growth Fund Retail ( EGFFX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, average downside risk, and higher fees, Edgewood Growth Fund Retail ( EGFFX ) looks like a somewhat weak choice for investors right now.

Want even more information about EGFFX? Then go over to Zacks.com and check out our mutual fund comparison tool, and all of the other great features that we have to help you with your mutual fund analysis for additional information. If you are more of a stock investor, make sure to also check out our Zacks Rank, and our full suite of tools we have available for novice and professional investors alike.