Yahoo Finance Is T. Rowe Price Global Technology (PRGTX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
Any investors hoping to find a Sector - Tech fund could think about starting with T. Rowe Price Global Technology (PRGTX). PRGTX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
We note that PRGTX is a Sector - Tech option, and this area is loaded with many options. Found in a wide number of industries such as semiconductors, software, internet, and networking, tech companies are everywhere. Thus, Sector - Tech mutual funds that invest in technology let investors own a stake in a notoriously volatile sector, but with a much more diversifies approach.
History of Fund/Manager
T. Rowe Price is based in Baltimore, MD, and is the manager of PRGTX. The T. Rowe Price Global Technology made its debut in September of 2000 and PRGTX has managed to accumulate roughly $2.40 billion in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by Dominic Rizzo who has been in charge of the fund since December of 2022.
Performance
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 12.86%, and it sits in the bottom third among its category peers. If you're interested in shorter time frames, do not dismiss looking at the fund's 3 -year annualized total return of -5.34%, 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. PRGTX's standard deviation over the past three years is 28.98% compared to the category average of 19.85%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 26.86% compared to the category average of 20.31%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
With a 5-year beta of 1.14, the fund is likely to be more volatile than the market average. 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. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a negative alpha of -2.51. This means that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick 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, PRGTX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.94% compared to the category average of 1.10%. From a cost perspective, PRGTX is actually cheaper than its peers.
This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $2,500, and each subsequent investment should be at least $100.
Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Bottom Line
Overall, even with its comparatively weak performance, worse downside risk, and lower fees, T. Rowe Price Global Technology ( PRGTX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and therefore looks a somewhat average choice for investors right now.
For additional information on the Sector - Tech area of the mutual fund world, make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds. There, you can see more about the ranking process, and dive even deeper into PRGTX too 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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