Large Cap Growth fund seekers should consider taking a look at American Funds Growth Fund of America A (AGTHX). AGTHX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
AGTHX is part of the Large Cap Growth section, and this segment boasts an array of other possible options. Large Cap Growth mutual funds purchase stakes in numerous large U.S. companies that are expected to develop and grow at a faster rate than other large-cap stocks. Companies are usually considered to be large-cap if their market capitalization is over $10 billion.
American Funds is responsible for AGTHX, and the company is based out of Los Angeles, CA. American Funds Growth Fund of America A debuted in December of 1973. Since then, AGTHX has accumulated assets of about $143.79 billion, according to the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by a team of investment professionals.
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 15.91%, and it sits in the middle third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 12.56%, which places it in the middle 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. The standard deviation of AGTHX over the past three years is 19% compared to the category average of 14.76%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 20.07% compared to the category average of 15.69%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
With a 5-year beta of 1.06, 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. AGTHX’s 5-year performance has produced a positive alpha of 0.28, which means managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.