If you have been looking for Mutual Fund Equity Report funds, it would not be wise to start your search with TIAA-CREF Growth & Income Retail (TIIRX Quick QuoteTIIRX - Free Report) . TIIRX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 4 (Sell), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

History of Fund/Manager

TIIRX finds itself in the TIAA-CREF family, based out of Boston, MA. TIAA-CREF Growth & Income Retail made its debut in March of 2006, and since then, TIIRX has accumulated about $1.29 billion in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. Valerie Grant is the fund's current manager and has held that role since November of 2022.

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 7.81%, 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 11.11%, 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, TIIRX's standard deviation comes in at 21.53%, compared to the category average of 18.04%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 19.53% compared to the category average of 15.72%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

With a 5-year beta of 1.04, the fund is likely to be more volatile than the market average. 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. TIIRX's 5-year performance has produced a negative alpha of -1.99, which means managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

Holdings

Investigating 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.

Currently, this mutual fund is holding 98.09% stock in stocks, which have an average market capitalization of $243.27 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:

• Technology
• Finance
• Non-Durable

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, TIIRX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.62% compared to the category average of 0.99%. From a cost perspective, TIIRX is actually cheaper than its peers.

Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $2,500 and that each subsequent investment needs to be at $100.

Bottom Line

Overall, TIAA-CREF Growth & Income Retail ( TIIRX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, TIAA-CREF Growth & Income Retail ( TIIRX ) looks like a somewhat weak choice for investors right now.

For additional information on this product, or to compare it to other mutual funds in the Mutual Fund Equity Report, make sure to go to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for additional information. Want to learn even more? We have a full suite of tools on stocks that you can use to find the best choices for your portfolio too, no matter what kind of investor you are.