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Is Conestoga Small Cap Investors (CCASX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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On the lookout for a Small Cap Blend fund? Starting with Conestoga Small Cap Investors (CCASX - Free Report) is one possibility. CCASX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on various 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
Conestoga is responsible for CCASX, and the company is based out of Radnor, PA. Conestoga Small Cap Investors debuted in October of 2004. Since then, CCASX has accumulated assets of about $710.09 million, according to the most recently available information. Robert Mitchell is the fund's current manager and has held that role since October of 2004.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. CCASX has a 5-year annualized total return of 6% and it sits in the middle 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 -2.9%, which places it in the top 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. Over the past three years, CCASX's standard deviation comes in at 20.27%, compared to the category average of 18.04%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 20.94% compared to the category average of 19.49%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
Investors should not forget about beta, an important way to measure a mutual fund's risk compared to the market as a whole. CCASX has a 5-year beta of 0.99, which means it is likely to be as volatile as the market average. 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 negative alpha of -5.82. This means that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
Expenses
Costs are increasingly important for mutual fund investing, and particularly as competition heats up in this market. And all things being equal, a lower cost product will outperform its otherwise identical counterpart, so taking a closer look at these metrics is key for investors. In terms of fees, CCASX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.10% compared to the category average of 1.07%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, CCASX is actually more expensive than its peers.
This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $2,500, while there is no minimum for each subsequent investment.
Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Bottom Line
Overall, even with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and higher fees, Conestoga Small Cap Investors ( CCASX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and therefore looks 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. And don't forget, Zacks has all of your needs covered on the equity side too! Make sure to check out Zacks.com for more information on our screening capabilities, Rank, and all our articles as well.
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Is Conestoga Small Cap Investors (CCASX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
On the lookout for a Small Cap Blend fund? Starting with Conestoga Small Cap Investors (CCASX - Free Report) is one possibility. CCASX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on various 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
Conestoga is responsible for CCASX, and the company is based out of Radnor, PA. Conestoga Small Cap Investors debuted in October of 2004. Since then, CCASX has accumulated assets of about $710.09 million, according to the most recently available information. Robert Mitchell is the fund's current manager and has held that role since October of 2004.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. CCASX has a 5-year annualized total return of 6% and it sits in the middle 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 -2.9%, which places it in the top 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. Over the past three years, CCASX's standard deviation comes in at 20.27%, compared to the category average of 18.04%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 20.94% compared to the category average of 19.49%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
Investors should not forget about beta, an important way to measure a mutual fund's risk compared to the market as a whole. CCASX has a 5-year beta of 0.99, which means it is likely to be as volatile as the market average. 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 negative alpha of -5.82. This means that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
Expenses
Costs are increasingly important for mutual fund investing, and particularly as competition heats up in this market. And all things being equal, a lower cost product will outperform its otherwise identical counterpart, so taking a closer look at these metrics is key for investors. In terms of fees, CCASX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.10% compared to the category average of 1.07%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, CCASX is actually more expensive than its peers.
This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $2,500, while there is no minimum for each subsequent investment.
Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Bottom Line
Overall, even with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and higher fees, Conestoga Small Cap Investors ( CCASX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and therefore looks 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. And don't forget, Zacks has all of your needs covered on the equity side too! Make sure to check out Zacks.com for more information on our screening capabilities, Rank, and all our articles as well.