Is Columbia Large Cap Enhanced Core A (NMIAX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

Having trouble finding a Large Cap Blend fund? Columbia Large Cap Enhanced Core A (NMIAX) is a potential starting point. NMIAX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.ObjectiveWe note that NMIAX 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.History of Fund/ManagerColumbia is based in Kansas City, MO, and is the manager of NMIAX. The Columbia Large Cap Enhanced Core A made its debut in July of 1996 and NMIAX has managed to accumulate roughly $71.09 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. Raghavendran Sivaraman is the fund's current manager and has held that role since December of 2019.PerformanceObviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 15.78%, and is in the top third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 12.15%, 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. NMIAX's standard deviation over the past three years is 16.85% compared to the category average of 14.75%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 17.99% compared to the category average of 15.78%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.Risk FactorsThe fund has a 5-year beta of 0.99, so investors should note that it is hypothetically 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. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a positive alpha of 0.21. This means that managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.ExpensesFor 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, NMIAX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.82% compared to the category average of 0.91%. NMIAX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.While the minimum initial investment for the product is $2,000, 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, Columbia Large Cap Enhanced Core A ( NMIAX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.For additional information on the Large Cap Blend 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 NMIAX too for additional information. 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