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Is Neuberger Berman Mid Cap Growth A (NMGAX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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Any investors hoping to find a Mutual Fund Equity Report fund could think about starting with Neuberger Berman Mid Cap Growth A (NMGAX - Free Report) . NMGAX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

History of Fund/Manager

Neuberger is based in New York, NY, and is the manager of NMGAX. Neuberger Berman Mid Cap Growth A made its debut in May of 1998, and since then, NMGAX has accumulated about $39 million in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund's current manager is a team of investment professionals.

Performance

Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 7.64%, and is in the middle 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. Over the past three years, NMGAX's standard deviation comes in at 24.31%, compared to the category average of 18.21%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 21.85% compared to the category average of 16.05%. 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. 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. With a negative alpha of -1.66, 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 principally on equities that are traded in the United States.

Right now, 86.77% of this mutual fund's holdings are stocks, and these companies have an average market capitalization of $25.76 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:

  • Technology
  • Retail Trade
This fund's turnover is about 58%, so the fund managers are making more traders than comparable funds in a given year.

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, NMGAX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.06% compared to the category average of 1.15%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, NMGAX is actually cheaper than its peers.

This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $1,000, and each subsequent investment should be at least $100.

Bottom Line

Overall, Neuberger Berman Mid Cap Growth A ( NMGAX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, worse downside risk, and lower fees, Neuberger Berman Mid Cap Growth A ( NMGAX ) looks like a great potential choice for investors right now.

Want even more information about NMGAX? 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.


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