We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience. This includes personalizing content and advertising. To learn more, click here. By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies, revised Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.
You are being directed to ZacksTrade, a division of LBMZ Securities and licensed broker-dealer. ZacksTrade and Zacks.com are separate companies. The web link between the two companies is not a solicitation or offer to invest in a particular security or type of security. ZacksTrade does not endorse or adopt any particular investment strategy, any analyst opinion/rating/report or any approach to evaluating individual securities.
If you wish to go to ZacksTrade, click OK. If you do not, click Cancel.
Is Wasatch Micro Cap Fund (WMICX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
Read MoreHide Full Article
If you've been stuck searching for Small Cap Blend funds, consider Wasatch Micro Cap Fund (WMICX - Free Report) as a possibility. WMICX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
WMICX is one of many Small Cap Blend funds to choose from. Small Cap Blend mutual funds allow investors a way to diversify their funds among various types of small-cap stocks. These funds seek companies with market capitalization of less than $2 billion, and aid in reducing volatility inherent in lower market cap stocks.
History of Fund/Manager
WMICX is a part of the Wasatch family of funds, a company based out of Salt Lake City, UT. The Wasatch Micro Cap Fund made its debut in June of 1995 and WMICX has managed to accumulate roughly $469.26 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by Daniel Chace who has been in charge of the fund since January of 2004.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 15.02%, and is in the top third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 24.67%, 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. Over the past three years, WMICX's standard deviation comes in at 16.44%, compared to the category average of 15.92%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 16.86% compared to the category average of 16.46%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
It's always important to be aware of the downsides to any future investment, so one should not discount the risks that come with this segment. In WMICX's case, the fund lost 60.76% in the most recent bear market and underperformed its peer group by 7.72%. These results could imply that the fund is a 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. Alpha is an additional metric to take into consideration, since it represents a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which in this case, is the S&P 500. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a positive alpha of 2.57. This means that managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking 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, WMICX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.65% compared to the category average of 1.22%. WMICX is actually more expensive 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, Wasatch Micro Cap Fund ( WMICX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, strong performance, average downside risk, and higher fees compared to its peers.
Your research on the Small Cap Blend segment doesn't have to stop here. You can check out all the great mutual fund tools we have to offer by going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds to see the additional features we offer as well for additional information. If you are more of a stock investor, make sure to also check out our Zacks Rank, and our full suite of tools we have available for novice and professional investors alike.
See More Zacks Research for These Tickers
Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:
Image: Bigstock
Is Wasatch Micro Cap Fund (WMICX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
If you've been stuck searching for Small Cap Blend funds, consider Wasatch Micro Cap Fund (WMICX - Free Report) as a possibility. WMICX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
WMICX is one of many Small Cap Blend funds to choose from. Small Cap Blend mutual funds allow investors a way to diversify their funds among various types of small-cap stocks. These funds seek companies with market capitalization of less than $2 billion, and aid in reducing volatility inherent in lower market cap stocks.
History of Fund/Manager
WMICX is a part of the Wasatch family of funds, a company based out of Salt Lake City, UT. The Wasatch Micro Cap Fund made its debut in June of 1995 and WMICX has managed to accumulate roughly $469.26 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by Daniel Chace who has been in charge of the fund since January of 2004.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 15.02%, and is in the top third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 24.67%, 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. Over the past three years, WMICX's standard deviation comes in at 16.44%, compared to the category average of 15.92%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 16.86% compared to the category average of 16.46%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
It's always important to be aware of the downsides to any future investment, so one should not discount the risks that come with this segment. In WMICX's case, the fund lost 60.76% in the most recent bear market and underperformed its peer group by 7.72%. These results could imply that the fund is a 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. Alpha is an additional metric to take into consideration, since it represents a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which in this case, is the S&P 500. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a positive alpha of 2.57. This means that managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking 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, WMICX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.65% compared to the category average of 1.22%. WMICX is actually more expensive 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, Wasatch Micro Cap Fund ( WMICX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, strong performance, average downside risk, and higher fees compared to its peers.
Your research on the Small Cap Blend segment doesn't have to stop here. You can check out all the great mutual fund tools we have to offer by going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds to see the additional features we offer as well for additional information. If you are more of a stock investor, make sure to also check out our Zacks Rank, and our full suite of tools we have available for novice and professional investors alike.