If you have been looking for Sector – Tech funds, a place to start could be T. Rowe Price Global Technology (PRGTX). PRGTX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
We note that PRGTX is a Sector – Tech option, and this area is loaded with many options. Found in a wide number of industries such as semiconductors, software, internet, and networking, tech companies are everywhere. Thus, Sector – Tech mutual funds that invest in technology let investors own a stake in a notoriously volatile sector, but with a much more diversified approach.
History of Fund/Manager
PRGTX is a part of the T. Rowe Price family of funds, a company based out of Baltimore, MD. Since T. Rowe Price Global Technology made its debut in September of 2000, PRGTX has garnered more than $2.95 billion in assets. Dominic Rizzo is the fund’s current manager and has held that role since December of 2022.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. PRGTX has a 5-year annualized total return of 11.04%, and it sits 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 39.19%, 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. The standard deviation of PRGTX over the past three years is 22.08% compared to the category average of 15.47%. The fund’s standard deviation over the past 5 years is 27.03% compared to the category average of 17.87%. 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. PRGTX has a 5-year beta of 1.35, 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. The fund has produced a negative alpha over the past 5 years of -3.87, which shows that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.