Is Goldman Sachs Large Cap Growth Insights A (GLCGX) A Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

There are plenty of choices in the Large Cap Growth category, but where should you start your research? Well, one fund that might be worth investigating is Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) Large Cap Growth Insights A GLCGX. GLCGX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

GLCGX 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.

History of Fund/Manager

GLCGX is a part of the Goldman Sachs family of funds, a company based out of New York, NY. Goldman Sachs Large Cap Growth Insights A debuted in November of 1991. Since then, GLCGX has accumulated assets of about $316.69 million, according to the most recently available information. A team of investment professionals is the fund's current manager.

Performance

Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 18.4%, and it sits in the top third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 15.79%, which places it in the middle third during this time-frame.

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. GLCGX's standard deviation over the past three years is 11.34% compared to the category average of 11.57%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 10.57% compared to the category average of 14.92%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

Investors should always remember the downsides to a potential investment, and this segment carries some risks one should be aware of. In GLCGX's case, the fund lost 51.68% in the most recent bear market and underperformed its peer group by 2.79%. This means that the fund could possibly be a worse choice than its peers during a down market environment.

Investors should note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 1.07, so it is likely going to be more volatile than the market at large. Another factor to consider is alpha, as it reflects a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark-in this case, the S&P 500. GLCGX's 5-year performance has produced a positive alpha of 1.2, which means managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking 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, GLCGX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.95% compared to the category average of 1.12%. From a cost perspective, GLCGX is actually cheaper than its peers.

Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $1,000 and that each subsequent investment needs to be at $50.

Bottom Line

Overall, Goldman Sachs Large Cap Growth Insights A has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Goldman Sachs Large Cap Growth Insights A looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.

For additional information on this product, or to compare it to other mutual funds in the Large Cap Growth, make sure to go to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for additional information. For analysis of the rest of your portfolio, make sure to visit Zacks.com for our full suite of tools which will help you investigate all of your stocks and funds in one place.