The Wall Street Journal-20080115-SmartMoney Fund Screen - Large-Cap Growth Funds
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SmartMoney Fund Screen / Large-Cap Growth Funds
Last May, we said it was finally time to jump back into large- company growth stock funds. It wasn't exactly a gutsy call; many market prognosticators were saying the same thing. Nevertheless, there was still some risk involved.
At the time, growth stocks posted an average 6.5% annually over the trailing three-year period. We did get a little nervous as we watched a rocky summer unfold for the stock market. But by New Year's Eve, we felt vindicated. According to Lipper, large-cap growth funds returned an average 14.2% in 2007, beating their value counterparts by 12 percentage points. The prospects for 2008 look good, too.
This week, the SmartMoney.com fund screen turns its focus to the large-cap-growth arena. We started with 752 funds and share classes, and a whopping 665 of them were knocked out because they charged a load. We narrowed that group further with our usual performance criteria. We looked for growth funds that beat the 11% gains of the S&P 500-stock index over the past five years -- a time when growth trailed badly. In addition, we sought funds in the top 40% of the category over the trailing three-year period. We wound up with 12 finalists.
The large-company growth stock funds on our list are also open to new money, require a minimum investment of under $5,000 and charge annual expenses of less than 1.5%.
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Growing Comeback
These 12 funds are steady performers and have low expenses.
Fund (Ticker)
1-Year 3-Year Average 5-Year Average Expense
Return Annual Return Annual Return Ratio
Activa Growth (AGFDX)
13.7% 9.1% 11.2% 1.40%
Allianz OCC Growth (PGRDX)
13.6 12.5 12.6 1.16
Chase Growth (CHASX)
17.0 10.6 12.2 1.17
Excelsior Large Cap Growth (UMLGX)
13.8 12.8 13.7 1.20
Gamco Growth (GABGX)
11.7 10.3 11.2 1.44
Janus Research (JAMRX)
17.8 12.2 14.0 0.98
Marsico Focus (MFOCX)
7.3 9.4 12.6 1.23
Sit Large Cap Growth (SNIGX)
11.8 10.9 12.6 1.00
T. Rowe Price Blue Chip (TRBCX)
8.0 8.9 11.3 0.81
T. Rowe Price Growth Stock (PRGFX)
6.2 9.7 12.3 0.70
Wells Fargo Advantage Capital Growth (SLGIX)
10.7 9.4 12.4 1.40
Westcore Growth (WTEIX)
13.9 10.0 12.6 1.11
Note: Data as of Jan. 10, 2008
Source: Lipper
