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Is Boston Partners Small Cap Value II Institutional (BPSIX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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Looking for a Small Cap Value fund? You may want to consider Boston Partners Small Cap Value II Institutional (BPSIX - Free Report) as a possible option. BPSIX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
BPSIX is one of many Small Cap Value funds to choose from. Small Cap Value mutual funds typically invest in companies with market caps under $2 billion. These funds represent value because they offer more bang for an owner's buck, often demonstrated by lower P/E Ratios, high dividend yields, and better-than-average price-to-sales ratios.
History of Fund/Manager
BostonPartners is based in New York, NY, and is the manager of BPSIX. Since Boston Partners Small Cap Value II Institutional made its debut in July of 1998, BPSIX has garnered more than $539.33 million in assets. The fund is currently managed by George Gumpert who has been in charge of the fund since April of 2009.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 9.75%, and it sits in the middle third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 5.01%, which places it in the middle third during this time-frame.
It is important to note that the product's returns may not reflect all its expenses. Any fees not reflected would lower the returns. Total returns do not reflect the fund's [%] sale charge. If sales charges were included, total returns would have been lower.
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. The standard deviation of BPSIX over the past three years is 19.51% compared to the category average of 17.27%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 24.88% compared to the category average of 20.03%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
The fund has a 5-year beta of 1.16, so investors should note that it is hypothetically more volatile than the market at large. 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. BPSIX has generated a negative alpha over the past five years of -5.23, demonstrating that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
Holdings
Investigating the equity holdings of a mutual fund is also a valuable exercise. This can show us how the manager is applying their stated methodology, as well as if there are any inherent biases in their approach. For this particular fund, the focus is principally on equities that are traded in the United States.
As of the last filing date, the mutual fund has 96.95% of its assets in stocks, which have an average market capitalization of $2.60 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
Finance
Industrial Cyclical
Technology
Turnover is about 65%, so those in charge of the fund make fewer trades than the average comparable fund.
Expenses
For investors, taking a closer look at cost-related metrics is key, since costs are increasingly important for mutual fund investing. Competition is heating up in this space, and a lower cost product will likely outperform its otherwise identical counterpart, all things being equal. In terms of fees, BPSIX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.99% compared to the category average of 1.06%. BPSIX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.
This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $100,000, and each subsequent investment should be at least $5,000.
Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Bottom Line
Overall, Boston Partners Small Cap Value II Institutional ( BPSIX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a somewhat average choice for investors right now.
This could just be the start of your research on BPSIXin the Small Cap Value category. Consider going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for additional information about this fund, and all the others that we rank as well for additional information. Want to learn even more? We have a full suite of tools on stocks that you can use to find the best choices for your portfolio too, no matter what kind of investor you are.
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Is Boston Partners Small Cap Value II Institutional (BPSIX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
Looking for a Small Cap Value fund? You may want to consider Boston Partners Small Cap Value II Institutional (BPSIX - Free Report) as a possible option. BPSIX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
BPSIX is one of many Small Cap Value funds to choose from. Small Cap Value mutual funds typically invest in companies with market caps under $2 billion. These funds represent value because they offer more bang for an owner's buck, often demonstrated by lower P/E Ratios, high dividend yields, and better-than-average price-to-sales ratios.
History of Fund/Manager
BostonPartners is based in New York, NY, and is the manager of BPSIX. Since Boston Partners Small Cap Value II Institutional made its debut in July of 1998, BPSIX has garnered more than $539.33 million in assets. The fund is currently managed by George Gumpert who has been in charge of the fund since April of 2009.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 9.75%, and it sits in the middle third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 5.01%, which places it in the middle third during this time-frame.
It is important to note that the product's returns may not reflect all its expenses. Any fees not reflected would lower the returns. Total returns do not reflect the fund's [%] sale charge. If sales charges were included, total returns would have been lower.
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. The standard deviation of BPSIX over the past three years is 19.51% compared to the category average of 17.27%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 24.88% compared to the category average of 20.03%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
The fund has a 5-year beta of 1.16, so investors should note that it is hypothetically more volatile than the market at large. 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. BPSIX has generated a negative alpha over the past five years of -5.23, demonstrating that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
Holdings
Investigating the equity holdings of a mutual fund is also a valuable exercise. This can show us how the manager is applying their stated methodology, as well as if there are any inherent biases in their approach. For this particular fund, the focus is principally on equities that are traded in the United States.
As of the last filing date, the mutual fund has 96.95% of its assets in stocks, which have an average market capitalization of $2.60 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
- Finance
- Industrial Cyclical
- Technology
Turnover is about 65%, so those in charge of the fund make fewer trades than the average comparable fund.Expenses
For investors, taking a closer look at cost-related metrics is key, since costs are increasingly important for mutual fund investing. Competition is heating up in this space, and a lower cost product will likely outperform its otherwise identical counterpart, all things being equal. In terms of fees, BPSIX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.99% compared to the category average of 1.06%. BPSIX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.
This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $100,000, and each subsequent investment should be at least $5,000.
Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Bottom Line
Overall, Boston Partners Small Cap Value II Institutional ( BPSIX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a somewhat average choice for investors right now.
This could just be the start of your research on BPSIXin the Small Cap Value category. Consider going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for additional information about this fund, and all the others that we rank as well for additional information. Want to learn even more? We have a full suite of tools on stocks that you can use to find the best choices for your portfolio too, no matter what kind of investor you are.