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Is Dreyfus Select Managers Small Cap Growth I (DSGIX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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Any investors hoping to find a Small Cap Growth fund might consider looking past Dreyfus Select Managers Small Cap Growth I (DSGIX - Free Report) . DSGIX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 4 (Sell), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

DSGIX is part of the Small Cap Growth category, and this segment boasts an array of many other possible options. Small Cap Growth mutual funds usually focus their portfolios on stocks with large growth opportunities and a market cap of under $2 billion. These portfolios tend to feature small companies in up-and-coming industries and markets.

History of Fund/Manager

BNY Mellon is based in New York, NY, and is the manager of DSGIX. Since Dreyfus Select Managers Small Cap Growth I made its debut in July of 2010, DSGIX has garnered more than $18.31 million in assets. The fund's current manager is a team of investment professionals.

Performance

Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 17.69%, and is 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 13.36%, which places it in the bottom 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. Compared to the category average of 17.61%, the standard deviation of DSGIX over the past three years is 23.65%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 19.55% compared to the category average of 14.51%. 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 1.11, so it is likely going to be more volatile than the market at large. Because alpha represents a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which is the S&P 500 in this case, one should pay attention to this metric as well. DSGIX has generated a negative alpha over the past five years of -0.34, demonstrating that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick 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 principally on equities that are traded in the United States.

The mutual fund currently has 83.34% of its holdings in stocks, which have an average market capitalization of $5.27 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:

  1. Technology
  2. Industrial Cyclical
  3. Health
  4. Other
  5. Services
With turnover at about 112.92%, this fund is making more trades in a given year than the category average.

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, DSGIX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1% compared to the category average of 1.21%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, DSGIX is actually cheaper than its peers.

Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $1,000 and that each subsequent investment needs to be at $100.

Bottom Line

Overall, Dreyfus Select Managers Small Cap Growth I ( DSGIX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, worse downside risk, and lower fees, Dreyfus Select Managers Small Cap Growth I ( DSGIX ) 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 Growth, make sure to go to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for additional information. Zacks provides a full suite of tools to help you analyze your portfolio - both funds and stocks - in the most efficient way possible.


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