Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Is Driehaus International Small Cap Growth (DRIOX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

Read MoreHide Full Article

There are plenty of choices in the Mutual Fund Equity Report category, but where should you start your research? Well, one fund that might be worth investigating is Driehaus International Small Cap Growth (DRIOX - Free Report) . DRIOX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

History of Fund/Manager

DRIOX finds itself in the Driehaus family, based out of Chicago, IL. Since Driehaus International Small Cap Growth made its debut in September of 2007, DRIOX has garnered more than $345.25 million in assets. The fund is currently managed by a team of investment professionals.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 16.75%, and is in the top third among its category peers. If you're interested in shorter time frames, do not dismiss looking at the fund's 3-year annualized total return of 20.6%, which places it in the top third during this time-frame.

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. DRIOX's standard deviation over the past three years is 19.53% compared to the category average of 20.82%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 16.98% compared to the category average of 17.22%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

With a 5-year beta of 0.93, the fund is likely to be less 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. DRIOX has generated a negative alpha over the past five years of -0.37, demonstrating that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

Expenses

As competition heats up in the mutual fund market, costs become increasingly important. Compared to its otherwise identical counterpart, a low-cost product will be an outperformer, all other things being equal. Thus, taking a closer look at cost-related metrics is vital for investors. In terms of fees, DRIOX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.14% compared to the category average of 1.18%. So, DRIOX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.

Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $10,000 and that each subsequent investment needs to be at $2,000.

Bottom Line

Overall, Driehaus International Small Cap Growth ( DRIOX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Driehaus International Small Cap Growth ( DRIOX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.

Want even more information about DRIOX? Then go over to Zacks.com and check out our mutual fund comparison tool, and all of the other great features that we have to help you with your mutual fund analysis for additional information. For analysis of the rest of your portfolio, make sure to visit Zacks.com for our full suite of tools which will help you investigate all of your stocks and funds in one place.


See More Zacks Research for These Tickers


Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:


Driehaus International Small Cap Gr (DRIOX) - free report >>

Published in