If investors are looking at the Small Cap Growth fund category, Bridgeway Small Cap Growth N could be a potential option. BRSGX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
The world of Small Cap Growth funds is an area filled with options, such as BRSGX. These funds tend to create their portfolios around stocks that sport large growth opportunities and market capitalization of less than $2 billion. The companies in these portfolios are usually on the smaller side, and are in up-and-coming industries and markets.
History of Fund/Manager
BRSGX finds itself in the Bridgeway family, based out of Houston, TX. Since Bridgeway Small Cap Growth N made its debut in January of 2004, BRSGX has garnered more than $50.37 million in assets. A team of investment professionals is the fund's current manager.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. BRSGX has a 5-year annualized total return of 9.95% and it sits in the top third among its category peers. But if you are looking for a shorter time frame, it is also worth looking at its 3-year annualized total return of 10.93%, which places it in the middle 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. BRSGX's standard deviation over the past three years is 15.5% compared to the category average of 14.86%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 14.36% compared to the category average of 14.71%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
Investors cannot discount the risks to this segment though, as it is always important to remember the downside for any potential investment. BRSGX lost 58.51% in the most recent bear market and underperformed comparable funds by 5.48%. This makes the fund a possibly worse choice than its peers during a sliding market environment.
Even still, the fund has a 5-year beta of 1.12, so investors should note that it is hypothetically more volatile than the market at large. Because alpha represents a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which is the S&P 500 in this case, one should pay attention to this metric as well. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a negative alpha of -1.71. This means 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 largely on equities that are traded in the United States.
Right now, 85.2% of this mutual fund's holdings are stocks, with an average market capitalization of $1.69 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
- Other
- Technology
- Industrial Cyclical
- Retail Trade
This fund's turnover is about 122%, so the fund managers are making more traders than comparable funds in a given year.
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, BRSGX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.94% compared to the category average of 1.29%. BRSGX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.
Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $2,000; each subsequent investment needs to be at least $100.
Bottom Line
Overall, Bridgeway Small Cap Growth N ( BRSGX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
For additional information on the Small Cap Growth area of the mutual fund world, make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds. There, you can see more about the ranking process, and dive even deeper into BRSGX too for additional information. If you want to check out our stock reports as well, make sure to go to Zacks.com to see all of the great tools we have to offer, including our time-tested Zacks Rank.
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Is Bridgeway Small Cap Growth N (BRSGX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
If investors are looking at the Small Cap Growth fund category, Bridgeway Small Cap Growth N could be a potential option. BRSGX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
The world of Small Cap Growth funds is an area filled with options, such as BRSGX. These funds tend to create their portfolios around stocks that sport large growth opportunities and market capitalization of less than $2 billion. The companies in these portfolios are usually on the smaller side, and are in up-and-coming industries and markets.
History of Fund/Manager
BRSGX finds itself in the Bridgeway family, based out of Houston, TX. Since Bridgeway Small Cap Growth N made its debut in January of 2004, BRSGX has garnered more than $50.37 million in assets. A team of investment professionals is the fund's current manager.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. BRSGX has a 5-year annualized total return of 9.95% and it sits in the top third among its category peers. But if you are looking for a shorter time frame, it is also worth looking at its 3-year annualized total return of 10.93%, which places it in the middle 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. BRSGX's standard deviation over the past three years is 15.5% compared to the category average of 14.86%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 14.36% compared to the category average of 14.71%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
Investors cannot discount the risks to this segment though, as it is always important to remember the downside for any potential investment. BRSGX lost 58.51% in the most recent bear market and underperformed comparable funds by 5.48%. This makes the fund a possibly worse choice than its peers during a sliding market environment.
Even still, the fund has a 5-year beta of 1.12, so investors should note that it is hypothetically more volatile than the market at large. Because alpha represents a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which is the S&P 500 in this case, one should pay attention to this metric as well. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a negative alpha of -1.71. This means 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 largely on equities that are traded in the United States.
Right now, 85.2% of this mutual fund's holdings are stocks, with an average market capitalization of $1.69 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
- Other
- Technology
- Industrial Cyclical
- Retail Trade
This fund's turnover is about 122%, so the fund managers are making more traders than comparable funds in a given year.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, BRSGX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.94% compared to the category average of 1.29%. BRSGX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.
Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $2,000; each subsequent investment needs to be at least $100.
Bottom Line
Overall, Bridgeway Small Cap Growth N ( BRSGX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
For additional information on the Small Cap Growth area of the mutual fund world, make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds. There, you can see more about the ranking process, and dive even deeper into BRSGX too for additional information. If you want to check out our stock reports as well, make sure to go to Zacks.com to see all of the great tools we have to offer, including our time-tested Zacks Rank.