Any investors hoping to find an Allocation Balanced fund could think about starting with T. Rowe Price Retirement Balanced (TRRIX). TRRIX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
TRRIX is one of many Zacks’ Allocation Balanced mutual funds to pick from. Allocation Balanced funds seek to invest in 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. Investors utilize Allocation Balanced funds as a way to get a good start with diversified mutual funds, as well as for core holdings in a portfolio of funds.
T. Rowe Price is based in Baltimore, MD, and is the manager of TRRIX. T. Rowe Price Retirement Balanced debuted in September of 2002. Since then, TRRIX has accumulated assets of about $1 billion, according to the most recently available information. The fund’s current manager is a team of investment professionals.
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. TRRIX has a 5-year annualized total return of 4.79% and is in the top third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 1.5%, 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. TRRIX’s standard deviation over the past three years is 9.04% compared to the category average of 12.88%. The fund’s standard deviation over the past 5 years is 9.51% compared to the category average of 13.59%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Investors should note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 0.5, which means it is hypothetically less volatile than the market at large. Another factor to consider is alpha, as it reflects a portfolio’s performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark-in this case, the S&P 500. TRRIX’s 5-year performance has produced a negative alpha of -3.61, which means managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
Costs 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, TRRIX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.49% compared to the category average of 0.86%. From a cost perspective, TRRIX is actually cheaper than its peers.
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.
Overall, T. Rowe Price Retirement Balanced ( TRRIX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a somewhat average choice for investors right now.
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