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Heres another vote for PRWCX. Solid long term performance, low fees, moderate risk. One of their biggest funds, likely to merit plenty of TLC from the brass and retain a top-notch manager at the helm.
However, if your sister is young, plans to invest systematically for 20 or more years and can tolerate more volatility, than I'd like to suggest a 50/50 mix of Spectrum Growth (PRSGX) and Spectrum International (PSILX) which combined would provide a roughly 40% domestic/60% international blend. IMHO thats a powerful growth machine that should require little hands on involvement and will outperform the more conservative PRWCX over time.
TRP tends to have steady eddy type funds. These are slightly more steady eddy in a volatile asset class: PRMSX T. Rowe Price Emerging Markets Stock PREMX T. Rowe Price Emerging Markets Bond
If she is looking to invest in just one fund to start out with, I would go with one of their retirement target date funds. Their all-in-one retirement funds are some of the best out there.
One of my favorite funds I use from TRP is the New Era PRNEX fund. It holds natural resource and energy stocks. Like most of their funds, it's a good steady-eddie fund if you want to be in this sector. Less volatile than most.
I had trp real estates fund in the past, one of my favorite fund but no longer holding it because of over wt in private equities ETFs/stocks trrex - trow real estates
I'll "fourth" the recommendation for PRWCX. Had a nice chat with the fund's long-time (now long-former) manager, who suggested that Price's own internal work - again, this would have been a while ago - reached the same conclusion. It almost never underperforms its domestic-hybrid peer group and it has lost money for its investors precisely twice in 20 years: down 1.2% in 1990 and down 27% om 2008.
The biggest hassle is that its portfolio offers little direct international exposure (though many of its multinational holdings derive significant revenue overseas) and effectively no exposure to small or mid-sized stocks. For a "core" fund, though, that's not necessarily a bad thing.
I concur with the judgments by Hank and MikeM, by the way. A target date fund would be perfectly appropriate, and might a mix of the Spectrum funds-of-funds. The only hassle with the latter is that your sister would actually need to remember to rebalance them each year.
Yes, if splitting retirement investments between the two Spectrum funds, it is advisable to rebalance annually back to the original 50/50 mix. I'd also note that some of us "control freaks" lean towards the Spectrum funds as a purer play; while the Retirement funds Mike mentioned gradually shift allocations towards fixed income over the years. If using Spectrum funds then, it is incumbent on the individual to make allocation changes over time. Assuming a long time horizon, I'd remain fully in the Spectrum funds for a good many years. Aside from this important distinction there's probably not much difference. PRSGX carries an ER of .85 and PSILX is at 1.01, making the combined about .92% . Retirement 2030 (TRRCX) carries a lower ER of .72%, likely due in part to greater use of index funds.
I'll have to look at PRWCX. Yet, I'm sure I have examined it before, and there's a reason I chose not to go there. I'm fond of small-caps, and I own PRSVX. Whether or not it is designed to be a core holding, I'm using it that way. Also, though it's not a hard-and-fast rule I impose on myself, I prefer Value to Growth. PRSVX is decidedly lackluster, yes, but that's OK with me. I'm not looking for flashy, just dependable. Statistically, PRSVX has done very well and I intend to keep it.
I'll fifth PRWCX. There was some trepidation at FA when the long-time "winning" manager stepped down in mid-2000's and was succeeded by the current manager, but many of us stuck with it and it hasn't let us down. Another favorite at one time was PRMTX - media and telecom. I don't know how that is tracking these days.
I have just looked at PRWCX again. Now I see why I steered clear: it's the high-risk rating, even though it comes with high returns, as rated by Morningstar. And I had already decided not to mix my equities and bonds in the same fund. Call me peculiar, I dunno.
Comparison: 3, 5 and 10-year returns. It's sort of an apples-and-oranges-comparison, I'll admit. But hey, take a look:
PRWCX includes both equities and bonds. PREMX is exclusively bonds, which are SUPPOSED to offer lower, more consistent returns--- the "cost" of investing in something less volatile by definition that equities. But here goes.....
PRWCX: 5.36% 5.84% 8.52% PREMX 8.77% 8.28% 11.78%
..................I suppose I'm glad that I did not choose to invest in a "balanced" or "hybrid" fund which holds BOTH sorts of animals: stocks AND bonds.
Favorites at TRP: several of the bond funds (Prwbx, Prcix, Prsnx, Rpsix, Premx) and Pridx, International Discovery, foreign small-mid growth stock. I like the composition of, but have never owned, two of their blend funds -- Prsix, Personal Strat Income, and Trrix, Retirement Income.
This is an answer to the headline question, "what's your favorite fund," which is different from the apparent question in the post, concerning a (single?) fund for an IRA. Hard to reply about the latter, not knowing what your sister's other investments are, and all that usual stuff.
Max, can't argue with your strategy of keeping bonds and equities separate. However, for funds like PRWCX, M* X-ray is a handy tool. By definition PRWCX will always lag one or more of its components, being broadly diversified. I'll put it in the same category as OAKBX which I also own.
Then again, emerging market bonds were the highest returning asset class of the past decade. So comparing a largely-domestic hybrid to a pure play on a hot asset class has, perhaps, an "apples to water pumps" kind of feel.
Definately Cap App (PRWCX) but the manager of cap app from the mid 2000's started his own fund prospector capital appreciation (also of interest), but performance has not fallen of at all.
Comments
However, if your sister is young, plans to invest systematically for 20 or more years and can tolerate more volatility, than I'd like to suggest a 50/50 mix of Spectrum Growth (PRSGX) and Spectrum International (PSILX) which combined would provide a roughly 40% domestic/60% international blend. IMHO thats a powerful growth machine that should require little hands on involvement and will outperform the more conservative PRWCX over time.
TRP tends to have steady eddy type funds. These are slightly more steady eddy in a volatile asset class:
PRMSX T. Rowe Price Emerging Markets Stock
PREMX T. Rowe Price Emerging Markets Bond
One of my favorite funds I use from TRP is the New Era PRNEX fund. It holds natural resource and energy stocks. Like most of their funds, it's a good steady-eddie fund if you want to be in this sector. Less volatile than most.
trrex - trow real estates
an interesting article about trow today
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/21/us-troweprice-idUSTRE73K4C220110421
The biggest hassle is that its portfolio offers little direct international exposure (though many of its multinational holdings derive significant revenue overseas) and effectively no exposure to small or mid-sized stocks. For a "core" fund, though, that's not necessarily a bad thing.
I concur with the judgments by Hank and MikeM, by the way. A target date fund would be perfectly appropriate, and might a mix of the Spectrum funds-of-funds. The only hassle with the latter is that your sister would actually need to remember to rebalance them each year.
For what it's worth,
David
Scroll down page to find T Rowe Price Funds:
http://www.successful-investment.com/SSTables/DomFFs042111.pdf
3, 5 and 10-year returns. It's sort of an apples-and-oranges-comparison, I'll admit. But hey, take a look:
PRWCX includes both equities and bonds. PREMX is exclusively bonds, which are SUPPOSED to offer lower, more consistent returns--- the "cost" of investing in something less volatile by definition that equities. But here goes.....
PRWCX: 5.36% 5.84% 8.52%
PREMX 8.77% 8.28% 11.78%
..................I suppose I'm glad that I did not choose to invest in a "balanced" or "hybrid" fund which holds BOTH sorts of animals: stocks AND bonds.
This is an answer to the headline question, "what's your favorite fund," which is different from the apparent question in the post, concerning a (single?) fund for an IRA. Hard to reply about the latter, not knowing what your sister's other investments are, and all that usual stuff.
M* PRWCX performance chart
http://performance.morningstar.com/fund/performance-return.action?t=PRWCX
Then again, emerging market bonds were the highest returning asset class of the past decade. So comparing a largely-domestic hybrid to a pure play on a hot asset class has, perhaps, an "apples to water pumps" kind of feel.
David