For example, Dodge & Cox Stock Fund (DODGX) climbed 21.28% in 2016, easily outpacing the S&P 500 Value index and its large-cap value peers. In the prior four calendar years, DODGX outperformed the index in two years (2012 and 2013), but lagged in the other two. Yet, the fund’s three- and five-year total return as of April 6 was in the top quartile of its peer group.
Another five-star ranked large-cap value fund is Invesco Growth & Income Fund (ACGMX). ACGMX rose 20.1% in 2016, also ahead of the index and peer group. While the fund outperformed its peers in three of the prior four calendar years and is in the top quartile over the short and long term, it bested the index in only two years (2013 and 2015).
As a reminder that not all mutual funds are structured the same, while financial stocks are the largest weighting in both ACGMX and DODGX, ACGMX has more exposure to energy stocks, such as Baker Hughes (BHI). Meanwhile, DODGX has a higher stake in information technology stocks such as Hewlett-Packard Enterprises (HPE).
Yet, investors who seek out passive large-cap value products may want to look at SPDR S&P 500 Value (SPYV) and Vanguard S&P 500 Value (VOOV), which have 0.15% net expense ratios. Relative to IVV, there have been slight performance differences, but the record relative to active funds has been similarly strong.
Todd Rosenbluth is Director of ETF & Mutual Fund Research at CFRA.