Is Hodges Small Cap Fund Institutional Class (HDSIX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

HDSIX

If investors are looking at the Small Cap Blend fund category, make sure to pass over Hodges Small Cap Fund Institutional Class (HDSIX - Free Report) . HDSIX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 5 (Strong Sell), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

We classify HDSIX 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

Hodges Capital is responsible for HDSIX, and the company is based out of Dallas, TX. The Hodges Small Cap Fund Institutional Class made its debut in December of 2008 and HDSIX has managed to accumulate roughly $40.90 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund's current manager is a team of investment professionals.

Performance

Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 4.45%, and it sits in the bottom 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 3.12%, 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. Over the past three years, HDSIX's standard deviation comes in at 31.32%, compared to the category average of 20.14%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 26.23% compared to the category average of 17.02%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

Investors should note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 1.55, which means 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. With a negative alpha of -12.85, 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 principally on equities that are traded in the United States.

As of the last filing date, the mutual fund has 90.04% of its assets in stocks, with an average market capitalization of $3.50 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:

  1. Industrial Cyclical
  2. Other
  3. Retail Trade
  4. Non-Durable
  5. Finance
This fund's turnover is about 81%, so the fund managers are making more trades in a given year than the average of comparable funds.

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, HDSIX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.09% compared to the category average of 1.08%. So, HDSIX is actually more expensive than its peers from a cost perspective.

While the minimum initial investment for the product is $1 million, investors should also note that each subsequent investment needs to be at least $100.

Bottom Line

Overall, Hodges Small Cap Fund Institutional Class ( HDSIX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, worse downside risk, and higher fees, Hodges Small Cap Fund Institutional Class ( HDSIX ) looks like a somewhat weak 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. For analysis of the rest of your portfolio, make sure to visit Zacks.com for our full suite of tools which will help you investigate all of your stocks and funds in one place.

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