Is BlackRock Exchange BlackRock (STSEX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

Have you been searching for a Large Cap Growth fund? You might want to begin with BlackRock Exchange BlackRock (STSEX). STSEX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.ObjectiveSTSEX 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/ManagerBlackRock is responsible for STSEX, and the company is based out of New York, NY. The BlackRock Exchange BlackRock made its debut in May of 1986 and STSEX has managed to accumulate roughly $263.08 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by Phil Ruvinsky who has been in charge of the fund since February of 2020.PerformanceObviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. STSEX has a 5-year annualized total return of 13.66% and it sits in the middle 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 9.8%, 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. The standard deviation of STSEX over the past three years is 14.27% compared to the category average of 17.09%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 15.68% compared to the category average of 18.29%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.Risk FactorsWith a 5-year beta of 0.8, the fund is likely to be less volatile than the market average. 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. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a positive alpha of 1.39. This means that managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.ExpensesAs competition heats up in the mutual fund market, costs become increasingly important. Compared to its otherwise identical counterpart, a low-cost product will be an outperformer, all other things being equal. Thus, taking a closer look at cost-related metrics is vital for investors. In terms of fees, STSEX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.74% compared to the category average of 0.73%. So, STSEX is actually more expensive than its peers from a cost perspective.Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $0 and that each subsequent investment has no minimum amount.Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.Bottom LineOverall, BlackRock Exchange BlackRock ( STSEX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and higher fees, BlackRock Exchange BlackRock ( STSEX ) looks like a somewhat average choice for investors right now.This could just be the start of your research on STSEXin the Large Cap Growth category. Consider going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for additional information about this fund, and all the others that we rank as well for additional information. Want to learn even more? We have a full suite of tools on stocks that you can use to find the best choices for your portfolio too, no matter what kind of investor you are.Free Today: Profiting from The Future’s Brightest Energy SourceThe demand for electricity is growing exponentially. At the same time, we’re working to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels like oil and natural gas. Nuclear energy is an ideal replacement.Leaders from the US and 21 other countries recently committed to TRIPLING the world’s nuclear energy capacities. 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