Is Invesco Diversified Dividend A (LCEAX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

Any investors hoping to find a Large Cap Blend fund could think about starting with Invesco Diversified Dividend A (LCEAX). LCEAX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.ObjectiveWe note that LCEAX 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/ManagerLCEAX is a part of the Invesco family of funds, a company based out of Kansas City, MO. Invesco Diversified Dividend A made its debut in December of 2001, and since then, LCEAX has accumulated about $3.67 billion in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. A team of investment professionals is the fund's current manager.PerformanceOf course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 11.63%, and it sits in the bottom 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 6.94%, which places it in the middle 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. LCEAX's standard deviation over the past three years is 14.8% compared to the category average of 14.45%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 14.11% compared to the category average of 15.55%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.Risk FactorsInvestors should not forget about beta, an important way to measure a mutual fund's risk compared to the market as a whole. LCEAX has a 5-year beta of 0.75, which means it 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. With a negative alpha of -0.54, managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.ExpensesCosts are increasingly important for mutual fund investing, and particularly as competition heats up in this market. And all things being equal, a lower cost product will outperform its otherwise identical counterpart, so taking a closer look at these metrics is key for investors. In terms of fees, LCEAX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.83% compared to the category average of 0.95%. From a cost perspective, LCEAX is actually cheaper than its peers.Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $1,000 and that each subsequent investment needs to be at $50Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.Bottom LineOverall, Invesco Diversified Dividend A ( LCEAX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a great potential choice for investors right now.This could just be the start of your research on LCEAXin the Large Cap Blend 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. For analysis of the rest of your portfolio, make sure to visit Zacks.com for our full suite of tools which will help you investigate all of your stocks and funds in one place.5 Stocks Set to DoubleEach was handpicked by a Zacks expert as the #1 favorite stock to gain +100% or more in 2024. While not all picks can be winners, previous recommendations have soared +143.0%, +175.9%, +498.3% and +673.0%.Most of the stocks in this report are flying under Wall Street radar, which provides a great opportunity to get in on the ground floor.Today, See These 5 Potential Home Runs >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Get Your Free (LCEAX): Fund Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks