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Is T. Rowe Price Capital Appreciation Fund (PRWCX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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On the lookout for an All Cap Value fund? Starting with T. Rowe Price Capital Appreciation Fund (PRWCX - Free Report) is one possibility. PRWCX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

PRWCX is one of many All Cap Value funds to choose from. All Cap Value mutual funds buy stakes in companies in all three valuation categories: small, medium, and large-cap. However, they end up focusing on bigger firms due to percentage of assets. Most importantly, these funds look for key value characteristics, targeting stocks that boast low P/E ratios, high dividend yields, and whose share prices do not reflect their worth.

History of Fund/Manager

PRWCX is a part of the T. Rowe Price family of funds, a company based out of Baltimore, MD. The T. Rowe Price Capital Appreciation Fund made its debut in June of 1986 and PRWCX has managed to accumulate roughly $29.36 billion in assets, as of the most recently available information. David R. Giroux is the fund's current manager and has held that role since June of 2006.

Performance

Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. PRWCX has a 5-year annualized total return of 11.36% and it sits in the top 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 8.29%, which places it in the top 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. Over the past three years, PRWCX's standard deviation comes in at 12.81%, compared to the category average of 13.59%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 12.99% compared to the category average of 14.37%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

Investors should not forget about beta, an important way to measure a mutual fund's risk compared to the market as a whole. PRWCX has a 5-year beta of 0.69, which means it is likely to be less 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. PRWCX has generated a positive alpha over the past five years of 0.7, demonstrating that managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking 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, PRWCX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.70% compared to the category average of 0.91%. From a cost perspective, PRWCX is actually cheaper than its peers.

This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $2,500, and each subsequent investment should be at least $100.

Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.

Bottom Line

Overall, T. Rowe Price Capital Appreciation Fund ( PRWCX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.

Want even more information about PRWCX? 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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