Is T. Rowe Price Balanced (RPBAX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

There are plenty of choices in the Allocation Balanced category, but where should you start your research? Well, one fund that might be worth investigating is T. Rowe Price Balanced (RPBAX). RPBAX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.ObjectiveRPBAX is classified in the Allocation Balanced segment by Zacks, which is an area full of possibilities. Here, investors are able to get a good head start with diversified mutual funds, and play around with core holding options for a portfolio of funds. Allocation Balanced funds look to invest across a balance of asset types, like stocks, bonds, and cash, though including precious metals or commodities is not unusual; these funds are mostly categorized by their respective asset allocation.History of Fund/ManagerT. Rowe Price is based in Baltimore, MD, and is the manager of RPBAX. The T. Rowe Price Balanced made its debut in December of 1939 and RPBAX has managed to accumulate roughly $2.48 billion in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by a team of investment professionals.PerformanceInvestors naturally seek funds with strong performance. RPBAX has a 5-year annualized total return of 10.88% and is in the middle third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 5.37%, 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. The standard deviation of RPBAX over the past three years is 12.8% compared to the category average of 13.11%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 12.2% compared to the category average of 13.96%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.Risk FactorsInvestors should note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 0.7, so it is likely going to be less volatile than 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. With a negative alpha of -2.55, managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.ExpensesAs competition heats up in the mutual fund market, costs become increasingly important. Compared to its otherwise identical counterpart, a low-cost product will be an outperformer, all other things being equal. Thus, taking a closer look at cost-related metrics is vital for investors. In terms of fees, RPBAX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.55% compared to the category average of 0.87%. RPBAX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $2,500; each subsequent investment needs to be at least $100.Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.Bottom LineOverall, T. Rowe Price Balanced ( RPBAX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.For additional information on this product, or to compare it to other mutual funds in the Allocation Balanced, make sure to go to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for additional information. Want to learn even more? We have a full suite of tools on stocks that you can use to find the best choices for your portfolio too, no matter what kind of investor you are.Zacks' Research Chief Names "Stock Most Likely to Double"Our team of experts has just released the 5 stocks with the greatest probability of gaining +100% or more in the coming months. Of those 5, Director of Research Sheraz Mian highlights the one stock set to climb highest.This top pick is among the most innovative financial firms. 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