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Is Hartford Capital Appreciation A (ITHAX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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If you have been looking for Large Cap Blend funds, it would not be wise to start your search with Hartford Capital Appreciation A (ITHAX - Free Report) . ITHAX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 4 (Sell), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
ITHAX is part of the Large Cap Blend section, an area that boasts an array of many possible options. Large Cap Blend mutual funds most often invest in firms with a market capitalization of $10 billion or more. By investing in bigger companies, these funds offer more stability, and are often well-suited for investors with a " buy and hold " mindset. Blended funds mix large, established companies into their holdings, which gives investors exposure to both value and growth at the same time.
History of Fund/Manager
ITHAX is a part of the Hartford family of funds, a company based out of Woodbury, MN. Since Hartford Capital Appreciation A made its debut in July of 1996, ITHAX has garnered more than $4.69 billion in assets. The fund's current manager is a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. ITHAX has a 5-year annualized total return of 10% and is in the bottom 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 4.52%, 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. Compared to the category average of 14.64%, the standard deviation of ITHAX over the past three years is 17.22%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 18.39% compared to the category average of 15.52%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
With a 5-year beta of 0.99, the fund is likely to be as volatile as the market average. Because alpha represents a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which is the S&P 500 in this case, one should pay attention to this metric as well. With a negative alpha of -4.28, managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
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, ITHAX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.04% compared to the category average of 0.93%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, ITHAX is actually more expensive than its peers.
While the minimum initial investment for the product is $2,000, investors should also note that each subsequent investment needs to be at least $50.
Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Bottom Line
Overall, Hartford Capital Appreciation A ( ITHAX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, average downside risk, and higher fees, Hartford Capital Appreciation A ( ITHAX ) looks like a somewhat weak choice for investors right now.
This could just be the start of your research on ITHAXin the Large Cap Blend category. Consider going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for additional information about this fund, and all the others that we rank as well for additional information. If you want to check out our stock reports as well, make sure to go to Zacks.com to see all of the great tools we have to offer, including our time-tested Zacks Rank.
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Is Hartford Capital Appreciation A (ITHAX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
If you have been looking for Large Cap Blend funds, it would not be wise to start your search with Hartford Capital Appreciation A (ITHAX - Free Report) . ITHAX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 4 (Sell), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
ITHAX is part of the Large Cap Blend section, an area that boasts an array of many possible options. Large Cap Blend mutual funds most often invest in firms with a market capitalization of $10 billion or more. By investing in bigger companies, these funds offer more stability, and are often well-suited for investors with a " buy and hold " mindset. Blended funds mix large, established companies into their holdings, which gives investors exposure to both value and growth at the same time.
History of Fund/Manager
ITHAX is a part of the Hartford family of funds, a company based out of Woodbury, MN. Since Hartford Capital Appreciation A made its debut in July of 1996, ITHAX has garnered more than $4.69 billion in assets. The fund's current manager is a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. ITHAX has a 5-year annualized total return of 10% and is in the bottom 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 4.52%, 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. Compared to the category average of 14.64%, the standard deviation of ITHAX over the past three years is 17.22%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 18.39% compared to the category average of 15.52%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
With a 5-year beta of 0.99, the fund is likely to be as volatile as the market average. Because alpha represents a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which is the S&P 500 in this case, one should pay attention to this metric as well. With a negative alpha of -4.28, managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
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, ITHAX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.04% compared to the category average of 0.93%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, ITHAX is actually more expensive than its peers.
While the minimum initial investment for the product is $2,000, investors should also note that each subsequent investment needs to be at least $50.
Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Bottom Line
Overall, Hartford Capital Appreciation A ( ITHAX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, average downside risk, and higher fees, Hartford Capital Appreciation A ( ITHAX ) looks like a somewhat weak choice for investors right now.
This could just be the start of your research on ITHAXin the Large Cap Blend category. Consider going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for additional information about this fund, and all the others that we rank as well for additional information. If you want to check out our stock reports as well, make sure to go to Zacks.com to see all of the great tools we have to offer, including our time-tested Zacks Rank.