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Is Conestoga Small Cap Investors (CCASX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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There are plenty of choices in the Small Cap Blend category, but where should you start your research? Well, one fund that might be worth investigating is Conestoga Small Cap Investors (CCASX - Free Report) . CCASX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
We classify CCASX in the Small Cap Blend category, an area rife with potential choices. Small Cap Blend mutual funds usually target companies with a market capitalization of less than $2 billion. A small-cap blend mutual fund allows investors to diversify their funds among various types of small-cap stocks, which can help reduce the volatility inherent in lower market cap companies.
History of Fund/Manager
CCASX is a part of the Conestoga family of funds, a company based out of Radnor, PA. Conestoga Small Cap Investors made its debut in October of 2004, and since then, CCASX has accumulated about $858 million in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund is currently managed by Robert Mitchell who has been in charge of the fund since October of 2004.
Performance
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. CCASX has a 5-year annualized total return of 10.99% 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 10.54%, 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. The standard deviation of CCASX over the past three years is 19.58% compared to the category average of 16.76%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 17.84% compared to the category average of 15.23%. 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. CCASX lost 42.31% in the most recent bear market and outperformed its peer group by 11%. This means that the fund could possibly be a better choice than its peers during a down market environment.
Investors should note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 1.04, so it is likely going to be 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. CCASX's 5-year performance has produced a positive alpha of 1.88, which means managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
Holdings
Exploring 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.
The mutual fund currently has 97.46% of its holdings in stocks, with an average market capitalization of $3.30 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
Technology
Industrial Cyclical
Services
Other
Turnover is 26%, which means this fund makes fewer trades than its comparable peers.
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, CCASX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.10% compared to the category average of 1.09%. CCASX is actually more expensive than its peers when you consider factors like cost.
Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $2,500 and that each subsequent investment has no minimum amount.
Bottom Line
Overall, Conestoga Small Cap Investors ( CCASX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and higher fees, this fund looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
For additional information on this product, or to compare it to other mutual funds in the Small Cap Blend, make sure to go to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds 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 Conestoga Small Cap Investors (CCASX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
There are plenty of choices in the Small Cap Blend category, but where should you start your research? Well, one fund that might be worth investigating is Conestoga Small Cap Investors (CCASX - Free Report) . CCASX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
We classify CCASX in the Small Cap Blend category, an area rife with potential choices. Small Cap Blend mutual funds usually target companies with a market capitalization of less than $2 billion. A small-cap blend mutual fund allows investors to diversify their funds among various types of small-cap stocks, which can help reduce the volatility inherent in lower market cap companies.
History of Fund/Manager
CCASX is a part of the Conestoga family of funds, a company based out of Radnor, PA. Conestoga Small Cap Investors made its debut in October of 2004, and since then, CCASX has accumulated about $858 million in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund is currently managed by Robert Mitchell who has been in charge of the fund since October of 2004.
Performance
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. CCASX has a 5-year annualized total return of 10.99% 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 10.54%, 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. The standard deviation of CCASX over the past three years is 19.58% compared to the category average of 16.76%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 17.84% compared to the category average of 15.23%. 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. CCASX lost 42.31% in the most recent bear market and outperformed its peer group by 11%. This means that the fund could possibly be a better choice than its peers during a down market environment.
Investors should note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 1.04, so it is likely going to be 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. CCASX's 5-year performance has produced a positive alpha of 1.88, which means managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
Holdings
Exploring 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.
The mutual fund currently has 97.46% of its holdings in stocks, with an average market capitalization of $3.30 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
- Technology
- Industrial Cyclical
- Services
- Other
Turnover is 26%, which means this fund makes fewer trades than its comparable peers.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, CCASX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.10% compared to the category average of 1.09%. CCASX is actually more expensive than its peers when you consider factors like cost.
Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $2,500 and that each subsequent investment has no minimum amount.
Bottom Line
Overall, Conestoga Small Cap Investors ( CCASX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and higher fees, this fund looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
For additional information on this product, or to compare it to other mutual funds in the Small Cap Blend, make sure to go to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds 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.