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Is Harbor Mid Cap Growth Institutional (HAMGX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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Have you been searching for a Mutual Fund Equity Report fund? You might want to begin with Harbor Mid Cap Growth Institutional (HAMGX - Free Report) . HAMGX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

History of Fund/Manager

Harbor Funds is based in Chicago, IL, and is the manager of HAMGX. Harbor Mid Cap Growth Institutional made its debut in November of 2000, and since then, HAMGX has accumulated about $92.22 million in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund is currently managed by Spenser Lerner who has been in charge of the fund since September of 2021.

Performance

Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 3.74%, and is 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 -4.19%, 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, HAMGX's standard deviation comes in at 28.16%, compared to the category average of 19.07%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 25.39% compared to the category average of 16.73%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

The fund has a 5-year beta of 1.15, so investors should note that it is hypothetically more volatile than the market at large. 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. HAMGX's 5-year performance has produced a negative alpha of -5.16, which means managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

Holdings

Examining 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 primarily on equities that are traded in the United States.

The mutual fund currently has 93.1% of its holdings in stocks, with an average market capitalization of $182.29 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:

  1. Technology
  2. Retail Trade
  3. Health
With turnover at about 82%, this fund is making more trades per year than the comparable average.

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, HAMGX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.58% compared to the category average of 1.14%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, HAMGX is actually cheaper than its peers.

Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $50,000 and that each subsequent investment has no minimum amount.

Bottom Line

Overall, Harbor Mid Cap Growth Institutional ( HAMGX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, worse downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a somewhat average choice for investors right now.

Your research on the Mutual Fund Equity Report segment doesn't have to stop here. You can check out all the great mutual fund tools we have to offer by going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds to see the additional features we offer as well for additional information. For analysis of the rest of your portfolio, make sure to visit Zacks.com for our full suite of tools which will help you investigate all of your stocks and funds in one place.


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