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Is Franklin Growth Allocation A (FGTIX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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If you've been stuck searching for Mutual Fund Equity Report funds, you might want to consider passing on by Franklin Growth Allocation A (FGTIX - Free Report) as a possibility. FGTIX holds 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
Franklin is responsible for FGTIX, and the company is based out of San Mateo, CA. Franklin Growth Allocation A debuted in December of 1996. Since then, FGTIX has accumulated assets of about $1.03 billion, according to 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 has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 5.16%, and is in the top third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 4.46%, which places it in the bottom third during this time-frame.
It is important to note that the product's returns may not reflect all its expenses. Any fees not reflected would lower the returns. Total returns do not reflect the fund's [%] sale charge. If sales charges were included, total returns would have been lower.
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. FGTIX's standard deviation over the past three years is 14.36% compared to the category average of 14.36%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 15.04% compared to the category average of 15.34%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
The fund has a 5-year beta of 0.78, so investors should note that it is hypothetically less 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 -2.98. This means that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
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, FGTIX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.65% compared to the category average of 0.85%. From a cost perspective, FGTIX is actually cheaper than its peers.
This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $1,000, while there is no minimum for each subsequent investment.
Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Bottom Line
Overall, even with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Franklin Growth Allocation A ( FGTIX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and therefore looks a somewhat weak choice for investors right now.
Want even more information about FGTIX? 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. 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.
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Is Franklin Growth Allocation A (FGTIX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
If you've been stuck searching for Mutual Fund Equity Report funds, you might want to consider passing on by Franklin Growth Allocation A (FGTIX - Free Report) as a possibility. FGTIX holds 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
Franklin is responsible for FGTIX, and the company is based out of San Mateo, CA. Franklin Growth Allocation A debuted in December of 1996. Since then, FGTIX has accumulated assets of about $1.03 billion, according to 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 has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 5.16%, and is in the top third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 4.46%, which places it in the bottom third during this time-frame.
It is important to note that the product's returns may not reflect all its expenses. Any fees not reflected would lower the returns. Total returns do not reflect the fund's [%] sale charge. If sales charges were included, total returns would have been lower.
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. FGTIX's standard deviation over the past three years is 14.36% compared to the category average of 14.36%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 15.04% compared to the category average of 15.34%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
The fund has a 5-year beta of 0.78, so investors should note that it is hypothetically less 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 -2.98. This means that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
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, FGTIX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.65% compared to the category average of 0.85%. From a cost perspective, FGTIX is actually cheaper than its peers.
This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $1,000, while there is no minimum for each subsequent investment.
Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Bottom Line
Overall, even with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Franklin Growth Allocation A ( FGTIX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and therefore looks a somewhat weak choice for investors right now.
Want even more information about FGTIX? 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. 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.