Is Alger Capital Appreciation Institutional Fund I (ALARX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

On the lookout for a Large Cap Growth fund? Starting with Alger Capital Appreciation Institutional Fund I (ALARX) should not be a possibility at this time. ALARX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 4 (Sell), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.ObjectiveWe classify ALARX 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/ManagerAlger Funds is based in New York, NY, and is the manager of ALARX. The Alger Capital Appreciation Institutional Fund I made its debut in November of 1993 and ALARX has managed to accumulate roughly $1.08 billion in assets, as of the most recently available information. A team of investment professionals is the fund's current manager.PerformanceObviously, 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 17.44%, and is in the middle 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 8.53%, 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. Over the past three years, ALARX's standard deviation comes in at 22.5%, compared to the category average of 15.96%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 21.34% compared to the category average of 16.57%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.Risk FactorsThe fund has a 5-year beta of 1.08, so investors should note that it is hypothetically more volatile than the market at large. 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. ALARX has generated a positive alpha over the past five years of 0.75, demonstrating that managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.ExpensesCosts 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, ALARX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.26% compared to the category average of 0.94%. So, ALARX is actually more expensive than its peers from a cost perspective.While the minimum initial investment for the product is $0, investors should also note that there is no minimum for each subsequent investment.Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.Bottom LineOverall, Alger Capital Appreciation Institutional Fund I ( ALARX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and higher fees, this fund looks like a poor potential choice for investors right now.For additional information on the Large Cap Growth 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 ALARX too for additional information. For analysis of the rest of your portfolio, make sure to visit Zacks.com for our full suite of tools which will help you investigate all of your stocks and funds in one place.Zacks Names #1 Semiconductor StockIt's only 1/9,000th the size of NVIDIA which skyrocketed more than +800% since we recommended it. NVIDIA is still strong, but our new top chip stock has much more room to boom.With strong earnings growth and an expanding customer base, it's positioned to feed the rampant demand for Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Internet of Things. Global semiconductor manufacturing is projected to explode from $452 billion in 2021 to $803 billion by 2028.See This Stock Now for Free >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Get Your Free (ALARX): Fund Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks