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Is Wasatch Ultra Growth (WAMCX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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Having trouble finding a Mutual Fund Equity Report fund? Wasatch Ultra Growth (WAMCX - Free Report) is a possible starting point. WAMCX carries 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 based in Salt Lake City, UT, and is the manager of WAMCX. Wasatch Ultra Growth made its debut in August of 1992, and since then, WAMCX has accumulated about $1.07 billion in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund is currently managed by John Malooly who has been in charge of the fund since January of 2012.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 13.91%, and it sits in the top third among its category peers. If you're interested in shorter time frames, do not dismiss looking at the fund's 3-year annualized total return of 7.4%, 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, WAMCX's standard deviation comes in at 27.8%, compared to the category average of 19.91%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 24.94% compared to the category average of 17.93%. 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 1.18, 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. WAMCX has generated a positive alpha over the past five years of 2.03, demonstrating that managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking 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.
The mutual fund currently has 77.02% of its holdings in stocks, which have an average market capitalization of $7 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
Health
Technology
Other
This fund's turnover is about 34%, so the fund managers are making fewer trades than the average comparable fund.
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, WAMCX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.17% compared to the category average of 1.19%. From a cost perspective, WAMCX is actually cheaper than its peers.
This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $2,000, and each subsequent investment should be at least $100.
Bottom Line
Overall, Wasatch Ultra Growth ( WAMCX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, worse downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a somewhat average choice for investors right now.
This could just be the start of your research on WAMCXin 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.
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Is Wasatch Ultra Growth (WAMCX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
Having trouble finding a Mutual Fund Equity Report fund? Wasatch Ultra Growth (WAMCX - Free Report) is a possible starting point. WAMCX carries 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 based in Salt Lake City, UT, and is the manager of WAMCX. Wasatch Ultra Growth made its debut in August of 1992, and since then, WAMCX has accumulated about $1.07 billion in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund is currently managed by John Malooly who has been in charge of the fund since January of 2012.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 13.91%, and it sits in the top third among its category peers. If you're interested in shorter time frames, do not dismiss looking at the fund's 3-year annualized total return of 7.4%, 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, WAMCX's standard deviation comes in at 27.8%, compared to the category average of 19.91%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 24.94% compared to the category average of 17.93%. 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 1.18, 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. WAMCX has generated a positive alpha over the past five years of 2.03, demonstrating that managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking 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.
The mutual fund currently has 77.02% of its holdings in stocks, which have an average market capitalization of $7 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
- Health
- Technology
- Other
This fund's turnover is about 34%, so the fund managers are making fewer trades than the average comparable fund.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, WAMCX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.17% compared to the category average of 1.19%. From a cost perspective, WAMCX is actually cheaper than its peers.
This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $2,000, and each subsequent investment should be at least $100.
Bottom Line
Overall, Wasatch Ultra Growth ( WAMCX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, worse downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a somewhat average choice for investors right now.
This could just be the start of your research on WAMCXin 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.