If you've been stuck searching for Mutual Fund Equity Report funds, consider Virtus KAR Small Cap Sustain Growth A (PSGAX Quick QuotePSGAX - Free Report) as a possibility. PSGAX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

History of Fund/Manager

PSGAX is a part of the Virtus Funds family of funds, a company based out of Hartford, CT. The Virtus KAR Small Cap Sustain Growth A made its debut in June of 2006 and PSGAX has managed to accumulate roughly $636.91 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund's current manager, Todd Beiley, has been in charge of the fund since April of 2008.

Performance

Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 21.21%, and is in the top third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 19.12%, 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. Compared to the category average of 16.6%, the standard deviation of PSGAX over the past three years is 20.78%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 18.29% compared to the category average of 14.63%. 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 0.9, so it is likely going to be less 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. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a positive alpha of 6.01. This means that managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking 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, PSGAX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.34% compared to the category average of 1.19%. From a cost perspective, PSGAX is actually more expensive than its peers.

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

Bottom Line

Overall, Virtus KAR Small Cap Sustain Growth A ( PSGAX ) 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.

This could just be the start of your research on PSGAXin the Mutual Fund Equity Report category. Consider going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for additional information about this fund, and all the others that we rank as well 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.