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Is Zacks Small-Cap Core Investor (ZSCCX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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Investors in search of a Mutual Fund Equity Report fund might want to consider looking at Zacks Small-Cap Core Investor (ZSCCX - Free Report) . ZSCCX has no Zacks Mutual Fund Rank, but we have been able to look into other metrics like performance, volatility, and cost.

History of Fund/Manager

ZSCCX finds itself in the Zacks Funds family, based out of Milwaukee, WI. Since Zacks Small-Cap Core Investor made its debut in June of 2011, ZSCCX has garnered more than $24.29 million in assets. The fund is currently managed by Mitch Zacks who has been in charge of the fund since June of 2011.

Performance

Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 9.7%, 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 16.58%, 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 19.11%, the standard deviation of ZSCCX over the past three years is 23.37%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 20.49% compared to the category average of 16.68%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

With a 5-year beta of 1.14, the fund is likely to be more volatile than 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. ZSCCX's 5-year performance has produced a negative alpha of -8.79, which means managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

Expenses

As competition heats up in the mutual fund market, costs become increasingly important. Compared to its otherwise identical counterpart, a low-cost product will be an outperformer, all other things being equal. Thus, taking a closer look at cost-related metrics is vital for investors. In terms of fees, ZSCCX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.39% compared to the category average of 1.08%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, ZSCCX is actually more expensive than its peers.

While the minimum initial investment for the product is $2,500, investors should also note that each subsequent investment needs to be at least $100.

Bottom Line

Your research on the Mutual Fund Equity Report segment doesn't have to stop here. You can check out all the great mutual fund tools we have to offer by going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds to see the additional features we offer as well 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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