If investors are looking at the Mutual Fund Equity Report fund category, American Funds Growth Fund of America F (GFAFX Quick QuoteGFAFX - Free Report) could be a potential option. GFAFX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

History of Fund/Manager

GFAFX finds itself in the American Funds family, based out of Los Angeles, CA. Since American Funds Growth Fund of America F made its debut in November of 1973, GFAFX has garnered more than $5.33 billion in assets. A team of investment professionals is the fund's current manager.

Performance

Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. GFAFX has a 5-year annualized total return of 8.87% and it sits 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 7.84%, which places it in the middle 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. GFAFX's standard deviation over the past three years is 22.45% compared to the category average of 17%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 19.86% compared to the category average of 14.92%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

The fund has a 5-year beta of 1.03, so investors should note that it is hypothetically as volatile as the market at large. Because alpha represents a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which is the S&P 500 in this case, one should pay attention to this metric as well. GFAFX's 5-year performance has produced a negative alpha of -1.96, 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.

As of the last filing date, the mutual fund has 93.16% of its assets in stocks, which have an average market capitalization of $309.78 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:

1. Technology
2. Retail Trade
3. Finance

Expenses

For investors, taking a closer look at cost-related metrics is key, since costs are increasingly important for mutual fund investing. Competition is heating up in this space, and a lower cost product will likely outperform its otherwise identical counterpart, all things being equal. In terms of fees, GFAFX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.66% compared to the category average of 0.99%. GFAFX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.

While the minimum initial investment for the product is $250, investors should also note that each subsequent investment needs to be at least $50.

Bottom Line

Overall, American Funds Growth Fund of America F ( GFAFX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, American Funds Growth Fund of America F ( GFAFX ) looks like a great potential choice for investors right now.

This could just be the start of your research on GFAFXin the Mutual Fund Equity Report category. Consider going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for additional information about this fund, and all the others that we rank as well for additional information. And don't forget, Zacks has all of your needs covered on the equity side too! Make sure to check out Zacks.com for more information on our screening capabilities, Rank, and all our articles as well.