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Is Oppenheimer Discovery Y (ODIYX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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If you've been stuck searching for Small Cap Growth funds, consider Oppenheimer Discovery Y (ODIYX - Free Report) as a possibility. ODIYX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong 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 ODIYX. 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

Invesco is responsible for ODIYX, and the company is based out of Kansas City, MO. The Oppenheimer Discovery Y made its debut in June of 1994 and ODIYX has managed to accumulate roughly $915.81 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund's current manager, Ronald J. Zibelli Jr.Has been in charge of the fund since May of 2006.

Performance

Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 12.86%, and it sits 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 19.68%, 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, ODIYX's standard deviation comes in at 16.63%, compared to the category average of 10.83%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 16.2% compared to the category average of 11.09%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

Investors should always remember the downsides to a potential investment, and this segment carries some risks one should be aware of. In ODIYX's case, the fund lost 49.18% in the most recent bear market and outperformed its peer group by 4%. These results could imply that the fund is a better choice than its peers during a sliding market environment.

Even still, the fund has a 5-year beta of 1.1, 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. The fund has produced a positive alpha over the past 5 years of 0.56, which shows that managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

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, ODIYX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.84% compared to the category average of 1.23%. ODIYX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.

This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $1,000, and each subsequent investment should be at least $50.

Bottom Line

Overall, Oppenheimer Discovery Y ( ODIYX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, worse downside risk, and lower fees, Oppenheimer Discovery Y ( ODIYX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.

This could just be the start of your research on ODIYXin the Small Cap Growth 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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