T. Rowe Price's Large-Cap Funds Are a Cut Above

Katie Reichart: T. Rowe Price offers a variety of large-cap funds that have proven their worth over time. All the large-cap funds Morningstar rates from T. Rowe are Medalists. T. Rowe is best known for its large-growth offerings, and there is a lot of overlap in portfolios between the different funds because the managers rely on the same central analyst team, but there are some subtle differences. The most established is T. Rowe Price Blue Chip Growth, which Larry Puglia launched in 1993. It's also the most diversified with 120 to 140 holdings. Two other large-cap, large-growth funds have managers with shorter tenures and slightly slimmer portfolios, at around 70 to 90 stocks. Joe Fath has run T. Rowe Price Growth Stock since 2014, and that fund invests in some private companies, such as Airbnb. Justin White has run T. Rowe Price New America Growth since 2016, and that fund has smaller bets on Amazon and Facebook than its two previously mentioned siblings. It also has a smaller asset base, so it can be a little bit more flexible. Then there's T. Rowe Price Spectrum Growth, which is a combination of 13 underlying funds across the complex, ranging from small cap to large cap, and it also has some international exposure. So, that can make it look a bit out of step relative to its category peers. On the value side, T. Rowe Price Equity Income is the oldest fund from T. Rowe, and John Linehan has effectively done a nice job with his dual objectives of income and capital appreciation. T. Rowe Price values a more straightforward relative value approach that has had a little bit of a higher turnover. On the blend side, T. Rowe Price Dividend Growth is a clear choice. Tom Huber has effectively run it since 2000, and it's had a nice, steady risk/reward profile over time. And then T. Rowe Price Growth & Income is another good choice that relies heavily on the analysts' input. Overall, T. Rowe Price's stock-picking has really set its large-cap funds apart, even in an environment where a lot of large-cap managers have struggled.