If investors are looking at the Sector - Tech fund category, T. Rowe Price Science & Technology Fund (PRSCX) could be a potential option. PRSCX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

The world of Sector - Tech funds is an area filled with options, and PRSCX is one of them. Sector - Tech mutual funds allow investors to own a stake in a notoriously volatile sector with a much more diversified approach. Tech companies can be in any number of industries such as semiconductors, software, internet, networking just to name a few.

History of Fund/Manager

T. Rowe Price is based in Baltimore, MD, and is the manager of PRSCX. Since T. Rowe Price Science & Technology Fund made its debut in September of 1987, PRSCX has garnered more than $5.90 billion in assets. The fund is currently managed by Anthony Wang who has been in charge of the fund since October of 2023.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 16.56%, and is in the middle 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 14.66%, 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. PRSCX's standard deviation over the past three years is 23.89% compared to the category average of 18.04%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 22.96% compared to the category average of 18.61%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

Investors should not forget about beta, an important way to measure a mutual fund's risk compared to the market as a whole. PRSCX has a 5-year beta of 1.06, which means it is likely to be more volatile than the market average. 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. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a positive alpha of 1.44. This means that managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

Expenses

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, PRSCX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.79% compared to the category average of 1.05%. So, PRSCX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.

While the minimum initial investment for the product is $2,500, investors should also note that 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 Line

Overall, T. Rowe Price Science & Technology Fund ( PRSCX ) 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 great potential choice for investors right now.

This could just be the start of your research on PRSCXin the Sector - Tech 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. Zacks provides a full suite of tools to help you analyze your portfolio - both funds and stocks - in the most efficient way possible.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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