We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience. This includes personalizing content and advertising. To learn more, click here. By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies, revised Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.
You are being directed to ZacksTrade, a division of LBMZ Securities and licensed broker-dealer. ZacksTrade and Zacks.com are separate companies. The web link between the two companies is not a solicitation or offer to invest in a particular security or type of security. ZacksTrade does not endorse or adopt any particular investment strategy, any analyst opinion/rating/report or any approach to evaluating individual securities.
If you wish to go to ZacksTrade, click OK. If you do not, click Cancel.
Is JPMorgan Small Cap Growth Fund A (PGSGX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
Read MoreHide Full Article
On the lookout for a Small Cap Growth fund? Starting with JPMorgan Small Cap Growth Fund A (PGSGX - Free Report) is one possibility. PGSGX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
PGSGX is part of the Small Cap Growth category, and this segment boasts an array of many other possible options. Small Cap Growth mutual funds usually focus their portfolios on stocks with large growth opportunities and a market cap of under $2 billion. These portfolios tend to feature small companies in up-and-coming industries and markets.
History of Fund/Manager
PGSGX is a part of the J.P. Morgan family of funds, a company based out of Boston, MA. The JPMorgan Small Cap Growth Fund A made its debut in July of 1991 and PGSGX has managed to accumulate roughly $351.61 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 6.32%, 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 -6.37%, 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 15.17%, the standard deviation of PGSGX over the past three years is 23.47%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 25.01% compared to the category average of 16.13%. This makes the fund more 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. PGSGX has a 5-year beta of 1.17, which means it is likely to be more volatile than 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 -8.33, managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
Holdings
Exploring 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.
As of the last filing date, the mutual fund has 87.49% of its assets in stocks, with an average market capitalization of $8.21 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
Technology
Health
Industrial Cyclical
Other
With turnover at about 33%, this fund is making fewer trades than its comparable peers.
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, PGSGX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.24% compared to the category average of 0.98%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, PGSGX is actually more expensive than its peers.
Investors should also note, that according to our data, the fund does not have any minimum investment requirements.
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 weak performance, worse downside risk, and higher fees, JPMorgan Small Cap Growth Fund A ( PGSGX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and therefore looks a good potential choice for investors right now.
For additional information on this product, or to compare it to other mutual funds in the Small Cap Growth, make sure to go to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for additional information. Zacks provides a full suite of tools to help you analyze your portfolio - both funds and stocks - in the most efficient way possible.
See More Zacks Research for These Tickers
Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:
Image: Bigstock
Is JPMorgan Small Cap Growth Fund A (PGSGX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
On the lookout for a Small Cap Growth fund? Starting with JPMorgan Small Cap Growth Fund A (PGSGX - Free Report) is one possibility. PGSGX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
PGSGX is part of the Small Cap Growth category, and this segment boasts an array of many other possible options. Small Cap Growth mutual funds usually focus their portfolios on stocks with large growth opportunities and a market cap of under $2 billion. These portfolios tend to feature small companies in up-and-coming industries and markets.
History of Fund/Manager
PGSGX is a part of the J.P. Morgan family of funds, a company based out of Boston, MA. The JPMorgan Small Cap Growth Fund A made its debut in July of 1991 and PGSGX has managed to accumulate roughly $351.61 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 6.32%, 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 -6.37%, 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 15.17%, the standard deviation of PGSGX over the past three years is 23.47%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 25.01% compared to the category average of 16.13%. This makes the fund more 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. PGSGX has a 5-year beta of 1.17, which means it is likely to be more volatile than 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 -8.33, managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
Holdings
Exploring 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.
As of the last filing date, the mutual fund has 87.49% of its assets in stocks, with an average market capitalization of $8.21 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
- Technology
- Health
- Industrial Cyclical
- Other
With turnover at about 33%, this fund is making fewer trades than its comparable peers.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, PGSGX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.24% compared to the category average of 0.98%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, PGSGX is actually more expensive than its peers.
Investors should also note, that according to our data, the fund does not have any minimum investment requirements.
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 weak performance, worse downside risk, and higher fees, JPMorgan Small Cap Growth Fund A ( PGSGX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and therefore looks a good potential choice for investors right now.
For additional information on this product, or to compare it to other mutual funds in the Small Cap Growth, make sure to go to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for additional information. Zacks provides a full suite of tools to help you analyze your portfolio - both funds and stocks - in the most efficient way possible.