Any investors hoping to find a Mutual Fund Equity Report fund could think about starting with Wasatch Micro Cap Value Fund (WAMVX Quick QuoteWAMVX - Free Report) . WAMVX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

History of Fund/Manager

Wasatch is responsible for WAMVX, and the company is based out of Salt Lake City, UT. The Wasatch Micro Cap Value Fund made its debut in July of 2003 and WAMVX has managed to accumulate roughly $338.15 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. Brian Bythrow is the fund's current manager and has held that role since July of 2003.

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 16.88%, and it sits 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 20.23%, which places it in the top 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, WAMVX's standard deviation comes in at 24.77%, compared to the category average of 24.17%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 21.38% compared to the category average of 21.77%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

Investors should note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 1.13, 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. WAMVX has generated a negative alpha over the past five years of -0.04, demonstrating that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

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, WAMVX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.60% compared to the category average of 1.19%. WAMVX is actually more expensive than its peers when you consider factors like cost.

Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $2,000 and that each subsequent investment needs to be at $100.

Bottom Line

Overall, Wasatch Micro Cap Value Fund ( WAMVX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and higher fees, Wasatch Micro Cap Value Fund ( WAMVX ) looks like a somewhat average choice for investors right now.

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. If you are more of a stock investor, make sure to also check out our Zacks Rank, and our full suite of tools we have available for novice and professional investors alike.