Large Cap Growth fund seekers should not consider taking a look at Allspring Pr Lrg Comp Grow A (EKJAX) at this time. EKJAX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 4 (Sell), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
EKJAX is classified in the Large Cap Growth segment by Zacks, an area full of possibilities. Companies are usually considered to be large-cap if their stock market valuation is more than $10 billion. Large Cap Growth mutual funds invest in many large U.S. firms that are projected to grow at a faster rate than their large-cap peers.
History of Fund/Manager
Allspring is based in San Francisco, CA, and is the manager of EKJAX. Allspring Pr Lrg Comp Grow A made its debut in February of 1998, and since then, EKJAX has accumulated about $1.05 billion in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. A team of investment professionals is the fund’s current manager.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 7.94%, and is 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 23.1%, which places it in the middle 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. EKJAX’s standard deviation over the past three years is 17.95% compared to the category average of 12.53%. The fund’s standard deviation over the past 5 years is 20.16% compared to the category average of 14.61%. 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 1.19, 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. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a negative alpha of -6.16. This means that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.