Is JPMorgan Large Cap Value Fund A (OLVAX) A Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

Large Cap Value fund seekers should consider taking a look at JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM) Large Cap Value Fund A OLVAX. OLVAX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

History of Fund/Manager

J.P. Morgan is based in Boston, MA, and is the manager of OLVAX. Since JPMorgan Large Cap Value Fund A made its debut in February of 1992, OLVAX has garnered more than $250.57 million in assets. The fund is currently managed by Scott Blasdell who has been in charge of the fund since April of 2013.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 16.8%, and is 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 11.93%, which places it in the top 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. Over the past three years, OLVAX's standard deviation comes in at 12.56%, compared to the category average of 8.93%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 11.6% compared to the category average of 9.89%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

It's always important to be aware of the downsides to any future investment, so one should not discount the risks that come with this segment. In the most recent bear market, OLVAX lost 54.14% and underperformed comparable funds by 3.98%. This might suggest that the fund is a worse choice than its peers during a bear market.

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. Alpha is an additional metric to take into consideration, since it represents a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which in this case, is the S&P 500. The fund has produced a positive alpha over the past 5 years of 0.09, which shows that managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

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, OLVAX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.92% compared to the category average of 1.04%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, OLVAX 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, JPMorgan Large Cap Value Fund A has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.

Don't stop here for your research on Large Cap Value funds. We also have plenty more on our site in order to help you find the best possible fund for your portfolio. Make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for more information about the world of funds, and feel free to compare OLVAX to its peers as well 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.