Is Victory Pioneer Select MC Growth A (PGOFX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
If investors are looking at the Mid Cap Growth fund category, Victory Pioneer Select MC Growth A (PGOFX) could be a potential option. PGOFX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
Zacks categorizes PGOFX as Mid Cap Growth, a segment packed with options. Mid Cap Growth mutual funds aim to target companies with a market capitalization between $2 billion and $10 billion that are also expected to exhibit more extensive growth opportunities for investors than their peers. A firm is typically considered to be a growth stock if it consistently posts impressive sales and/or earnings growth.
History of Fund/Manager
PGOFX is a part of the Victory family of funds, a company based out of Columbus, OH. Victory Pioneer Select MC Growth A made its debut in January of 1968, and since then, PGOFX has accumulated about $1.39 billion in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund’s current manager is a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. PGOFX has a 5-year annualized total return of 6.45%, and it sits 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 23.03%, 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. Compared to the category average of 12.71%, the standard deviation of PGOFX over the past three years is 19.78%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund’s standard deviation is 21.1% compared to the category average of 14.53%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
Investors should note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 1.24, 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. With a negative alpha of -7.13, managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick 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, PGOFX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.98% compared to the category average of 0.96%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, PGOFX is actually more expensive than its peers.
Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $1,000; each subsequent investment needs to be at least $100.
Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into consideration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Bottom Line
Overall, even with its comparatively strong performance, worse downside risk, and higher fees, Victory Pioneer Select MC Growth A ( PGOFX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and therefore looks a good potential choice for investors right now.
Don’t stop here for your research on Mid Cap Growth 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 PGOFX to its peers as well for additional information. If you want to check out our stock reports as well, make sure to go to Zacks.com to see all of the great tools we have to offer, including our time-tested Zacks Rank.
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).