FYI: A number of T. Rowe Price Group Inc. mutual funds beat the S&P 500 index during a tough 2018 for the U.S. stock market, but only five provided investors with positive returns.
The total is less than half the number of portfolio managers who beat the index last year. Baltimore-based T. Rowe Price's funds, and the stock market overall, were hit hard by the stock market's dramatic plunge in December.
Regards,
Ted
https://www.bizjournals.com/baltimore/news/2019/02/20/only-five-t-rowe-price-u-s-mutual-funds-saw.html
Comments
Derf
(2) Another factor - Price tends to be more aggressive with their significant number of allocation funds than others. RPSIX, for example, can hold around 10% in PRFDX (a stock fund). If you compare RPSIX to less aggressive “income” funds during a down year for equities it will lag. Their retirement funds are also known for having glide slopes that keep investors in equities further out than many others. More equities in a down year spells lower return.
(3) Price includes a bit of PRAFX (real assets) in many allocation funds. In fact, PRAFX was first developed for in-house use in their allocation funds and than later offered to the public. Commodities, energy, & real estate were poor places to be in ‘18. However, if this year’s trend continues it will pay investors in real assets for their patience.
At first I couldn’t see commenting on this one. A single year says very little about the quality of a firm. Since some have found it worthwhile, I wanted to add my 2-cents. All that being said, I do like to diversify management risk. As now stands, Price has about 50% with the other 50% divided up among Dodge & Cox, Oppenheimer, and Permenant Portfolio. I’m much more accustomed to fending off criticism of the latter two (especially PRPFX) than I am of T. Rowe. Some day I may have 100% with Price for ease of managing my assets and because of their great customer service.
This is just another column tossing out junk statistics and not even doing its homework. The two other Price equity funds (albeit institutional funds) that had positive returns were: TRLGX (you can get the same manager via HNASX), and TPLGX (likely a clone of TRBCX).
What's the point in saying that fewer than half the managers who beat the S&P 500 did so by more than 4.38% (i.e. had positive returns)? When your manager beats his (or her) benchmark, do you complain that the fund outperformed by only 3%? Do you expect, in a good year or bad year for the market, half the managers who outperform to do so by over 4%? This is silly.
Thanks @msf for lifting some of the curtain (err ... shroud?) here.
For example, all else being equal (which it never is), I try to keep expenses down, especially in large cap, so while many people like AKREX, it's not one on my list. They're all rather concentrated (40+% in top ten holdings) with AKREX "insanely" so (75%). On the other hand, to its credit, AKREX's top ten list isn't filled with all of the usual suspects. As a fund family, I like T. Rowe Price because it usually handles manager succession well.
My personal preferences run toward funds like the Primecap ones - more diversified (though that may mean less upside potential), still low cost, team managed (helps with succession), a bit less "growthy", a tad more international. But that's me. Everybody looks for different things and has different comfort levels and objectives.
Any reason to invest in this vs TRBCX. THX
not that I can see, really, unless you dwell on that one given period where it outperforms (barely)
you can always do both just to get the workings of two different minds in approach to LCG; it's not like they're indexes
or add FCNTX and get the workings of three different minds, although surely w lots of overlap, and FCNTX has not done as well recently
I used to chase this kind of catchall OCD, and many here still do, but in retirement I have shed a lot of that impulse toward some of this / some of that / some of the other, and have pared and simplified majorly, or so I claim
Take a look yourself via MFOP at DSEEX, TRBCX, IVV, and CAPE for the last 5y, their close UI and other measures (IVV notably lagging in growth of course).
You will almost certainly not go wrong w/ TRBCX if you hang in and don't track during slumps. (I may move some DSE_X moneys to it in the next slump, not sure; as I say, I'm trying to fight such excess or at least bootless diversification impulses, to return also to such old faves as YACKX, JABAX, PRBLX, FLPSX, TWEIX, plus some SC.)
US large cap growth -- TRBCX
US large cap core -- PRDGX
Global large cap growth -- MGGIX
International small/mid cap -- ARTJX
and pondering possible EM -- PRIJX
I'm trying to keep the funds to a manageable number. Feedback is welcome!