Having trouble finding a Large Cap Growth fund? Well, PRIMECAP Odyssey Growth Fund (POGRX) would not be a good potential starting point right now. POGRX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 5 (Strong Sell), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
We classify POGRX in the Large Cap Growth category, an area rife with potential choices. Large Cap Growth funds invest in many large U.S. companies that are expected to grow much faster compared to other large-cap stocks. To be considered large-cap, companies must have a market cap over $10 billion.
History of Fund/Manager
Primecap Odyssey is based in Pasadena, CA, and is the manager of POGRX. The PRIMECAP Odyssey Growth Fund made its debut in November of 2004 and POGRX has managed to accumulate roughly $11.88 billion in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 10.58%, and is in the top 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 10.99%, 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. Compared to the category average of 13.01%, the standard deviation of POGRX over the past three years is 16.71%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 14.98% compared to the category average of 12.62%. This makes the fund more 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 POGRX's case, the fund lost 47.42% in the most recent bear market and outperformed its peer group by 1.42%. This might suggest that the fund is a better choice than its peers during a bear market.
Investors should not forget about beta, an important way to measure a mutual fund's risk compared to the market as a whole. POGRX has a 5-year beta of 1.18, 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 positive alpha over the past 5 years of 0.97, which shows that managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
Holdings
Examining 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 mostly on equities that are traded in the United States.
Currently, this mutual fund is holding 87.67% stock in stocks, with an average market capitalization of $90.65 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
- Technology
- Health
- Industrial Cyclical
- Other
Turnover is 4%, which means this fund makes fewer trades than the average comparable fund.
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, POGRX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.65% compared to the category average of 1.05%. From a cost perspective, POGRX is actually cheaper than its peers.
While the minimum initial investment for the product is $2,000, investors should also note that each subsequent investment needs to be at least $100.
Bottom Line
Overall, PRIMECAP Odyssey Growth Fund ( POGRX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees compared to its peers.
Your research on the Large Cap Growth segment doesn't have to stop here. You can check out all the great mutual fund tools we have to offer by going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds to see the additional features we offer 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.
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