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Is T. Rowe Price QM US Small Cap Growth Equity (PRDSX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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There are plenty of choices in the Small Cap Growth category, but where should you start your research? Well, one fund that might be worth investigating is T. Rowe Price QM US Small Cap Growth Equity (PRDSX - Free Report) . PRDSX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
PRDSX is one of many different Small Cap Growth funds to choose from. Small Cap Growth mutual funds build portfolios around stocks with markets caps under $2 billion and large growth opportunities. Additionally, these portfolios typically highlight smaller companies in promising markets and industries.
History of Fund/Manager
T. Rowe Price is responsible for PRDSX, and the company is based out of Baltimore, MD. T. Rowe Price QM US Small Cap Growth Equity made its debut in January of 1998, and since then, PRDSX has accumulated about $3.74 billion in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. 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 9.33%, and it sits in the middle third among its category peers. But if you are looking for a shorter time frame, it is also worth looking at its 3-year annualized total return of 3.57%, 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, PRDSX's standard deviation comes in at 20.29%, compared to the category average of 16.92%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 20.76% compared to the category average of 18.05%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
With a 5-year beta of 1.05, the fund 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. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a negative alpha of -5.05. This means that 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.
This fund is currently holding about 88.53% in stocks, with an average market capitalization of $9.24 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
Technology
Industrial Cyclical
Health
Turnover is 37.1%, which means, on average, the fund makes fewer trades than its comparable peers.
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, PRDSX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.80% compared to the category average of 1.03%. PRDSX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.
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 QM US Small Cap Growth Equity ( PRDSX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, T. Rowe Price QM US Small Cap Growth Equity ( PRDSX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
Want even more information about PRDSX? 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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Is T. Rowe Price QM US Small Cap Growth Equity (PRDSX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
There are plenty of choices in the Small Cap Growth category, but where should you start your research? Well, one fund that might be worth investigating is T. Rowe Price QM US Small Cap Growth Equity (PRDSX - Free Report) . PRDSX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
PRDSX is one of many different Small Cap Growth funds to choose from. Small Cap Growth mutual funds build portfolios around stocks with markets caps under $2 billion and large growth opportunities. Additionally, these portfolios typically highlight smaller companies in promising markets and industries.
History of Fund/Manager
T. Rowe Price is responsible for PRDSX, and the company is based out of Baltimore, MD. T. Rowe Price QM US Small Cap Growth Equity made its debut in January of 1998, and since then, PRDSX has accumulated about $3.74 billion in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. 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 9.33%, and it sits in the middle third among its category peers. But if you are looking for a shorter time frame, it is also worth looking at its 3-year annualized total return of 3.57%, 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, PRDSX's standard deviation comes in at 20.29%, compared to the category average of 16.92%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 20.76% compared to the category average of 18.05%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
With a 5-year beta of 1.05, the fund 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. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a negative alpha of -5.05. This means that 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.
This fund is currently holding about 88.53% in stocks, with an average market capitalization of $9.24 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
- Technology
- Industrial Cyclical
- Health
Turnover is 37.1%, which means, on average, the fund makes fewer trades than its comparable peers.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, PRDSX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.80% compared to the category average of 1.03%. PRDSX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.
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 QM US Small Cap Growth Equity ( PRDSX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, T. Rowe Price QM US Small Cap Growth Equity ( PRDSX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
Want even more information about PRDSX? 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.