Gold-Rated T. Rowe Price Mid-Cap Growth Reopens

T. Rowe Price Mid-Cap Growth and T. Rowe Price Institutional Mid-Cap Equity Growth will open to new investors beginning December 1, according to a recent filing. The funds had been closed to new investors since May 2010, but T. Rowe believes they now have additional capacity following heavy outflows. The funds collectively experienced outflows of roughly $11 billion since the beginning of 2020, according to Morningstar asset flow data, which is significant even for a strategy which had $78.6 billion in total assets as of June 30, 2021. Based on the firm’s September 30 estimates, investors are in line for larger-than-average capital gains distributions of around $11 per share, likely driven by increased selling activity to meet redemptions. The estimates are subject to change.

Slumping performance may have spawned some of the outflows as the strategy has lagged its average mid-growth Morningstar Category peer and Russell Mid-Cap Growth benchmark over the trailing three- and five-year periods ended September 2021. Over the long term, however, manager Brian Berghuis has delivered for investors despite wielding a very large asset base. T. Rowe’s history of capacity management suggests it won’t let asset bloat tarnish this strategy’s prospects, though it remains an area to watch. The strategy’s High Process rating and Morningstar Analyst Rating of Gold still apply.