Fund Evaluator:

American Beacon Stephens Mid-Cap Gr Inv Overview

American Beacon Stephens Mid-Cap Gr Inv (STMGX) is an actively managed U.S. Equity Mid-Cap Growth fund. American Beacon launched the fund in 2006.

The investment seeks long-term growth of capital. Under normal circumstances, the fund invests at least 80% of its net assets, plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes, in equity securities of medium market capitalization companies that the fund's managers consider to have growth characteristics.

About American Beacon Stephens Mid-Cap Gr Inv (STMGX)

There are 5 members of the management team with an average tenure of 15.76 years: John Thornton (2006), Kelly Ranucci (2011), Samuel Chase (2011), John Keller (2019), Ryan Crane (2006). Management tenure is more important for actively managed funds than passive index funds.

The fund has 2 primary benchmarks: S&P 500 (TR) (1970) index with a weighting of 100% and Russell Mid Cap Growth TR USD index with a weighting of 100%. American Beacon Stephens Mid-Cap Gr Inv has 94 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 18.2% of the fund’s assets. The fund meets the SEC requirement of being classified as a diversified fund. The fund is not considered to have an ESG focus with its investment selection and management.

American Beacon Stephens Mid-Cap Gr Inv is part of the Equity global asset class and is within the U.S. Equity fund group. American Beacon Stephens Mid-Cap Gr Inv has 0.5% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 98.0%. There is 0.5% allocated to foreign stock, and 0.0% is allocated to preferred stocks. The bond allocation as a percentage of total assets is 0.0% (0.0% domestic bond, 0.0% foreign bond and 0.0% convertible bond). American Beacon Stephens Mid-Cap Gr Inv has 1.6% of the portfolio in cash.

Assets Under Management

The fund has $37 million in total assets, which is below the $686 million average for the Mid-Cap Growth category. Normally, lower assets under management translates to higher average expense ratios, and greater total assets are desired. However, for some investment categories, such as small-cap investing, it may be difficult for the manager to fully employ the desired active strategy if assets grow too large or too quickly.

STMGX Performance and Fees

The expense ratio measures how much of a fund’s assets are used for administrative expenses and operating expenses, including adviser fees and fees for the transfer agent and custodial services. The American Beacon Stephens Mid-Cap Gr Inv expense ratio is high compared to funds in the Mid-Cap Growth category. American Beacon Stephens Mid-Cap Gr Inv has an expense ratio of 1.15%, which is 5% higher than its category average, making the fund expense ratio grade a D. While it is difficult to predict returns, it is known that high annual expense ratios reduce your rate of return, and excessive fees are difficult to overcome. Active management normally comes with higher expense ratios than passive index management. Certain investment categories such as small company and foreign also normally have higher expense ratios. It is best to compare fund expense ratios against the category averages for meaningful assessments.

High portfolio turnover can translate to higher expenses and lower aftertax returns. American Beacon Stephens Mid-Cap Gr Inv has a portfolio turnover rate of 51%, indicating that holds its assets around 0.0 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 76% for the Mid-Cap Growth category.

Recently, in the month of June 2026, American Beacon Stephens Mid-Cap Gr Inv returned 3.8%, which earned it a grade of C, as the Mid-Cap Growth category had an average return of 3.7%. The letter grades of A, B, C, D and F are based upon relative rankings within the investment category. A grade of A, for example, would indicate that the return is in the highest 20% for that time period compared to all funds in that category.

American Beacon Stephens Mid-Cap Gr Inv has a trailing yield of 0.00%, which is below the 0.03% category average. The fund normally distributes its income annually and its capital gains annually.

It’s natural to seek the best-performing investments, but you must consider the relationship between risk and return and the impact of costs and taxes on your realized returns.

American Beacon Stephens Mid-Cap Gr Inv Grades

Year to date, the fund has returned 13.6%, 1.8 percentage points better than the category, which translates into a grade of B. The fund has returned 16.8% over the past year (grade of B), 16.0% over the past three years (grade of B) and 6.4% per year over the past five years (grade of B) and 14.1% per year over the past 10 years (grade of A).

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