Is Mairs & Power Growth Fund (MPGFX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

Have you been searching for a Large Cap Blend fund? You might want to begin with Mairs & Power Growth Fund (MPGFX). MPGFX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

We note that MPGFX is a Large Cap Blend option, an area loaded with different options. More often than not, Large Cap Blend mutual funds invest in companies with a market cap of over $10 billion. Buying stakes in bigger companies offer these funds more stability, and are well-suited for investors with a ” buy and hold ” mindset. Additionally, blended funds mix large, more established firms into their portfolios, giving investors exposure to value and growth opportunities.

Mairs & Power is based in St. Paul, MN, and is the manager of MPGFX. Mairs & Power Growth Fund debuted in November of 1958. Since then, MPGFX has accumulated assets of about $4.94 billion, according to the most recently available information. Andrew Adams is the fund’s current manager and has held that role since January of 2015.

Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 13.24%, and it sits in the bottom 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 9.74%, which places it in the bottom 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 MPGFX over the past three years is 16.58% compared to the category average of 16.41%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund’s standard deviation is 16.52% compared to the category average of 16.21%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Investors should note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 1, so it is likely going to be as volatile as 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 negative alpha over the past 5 years of -1.99, which shows that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.