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Is Wasatch Micro Cap Value Fund (WAMVX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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Having trouble finding a Mutual Fund Equity Report fund? Well, Wasatch Micro Cap Value Fund (WAMVX - Free Report) would not be a good potential starting point right now. WAMVX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 5 (Strong Sell), 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 WAMVX. The Wasatch Micro Cap Value Fund made its debut in July of 2003 and WAMVX has managed to accumulate roughly $249.50 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund's current manager, Brian Bythrow, has been in charge of the fund 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 8.43%, 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 9.82%, 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 27.49%, compared to the category average of 25.72%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 23.48% compared to the category average of 23.31%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
The fund has a 5-year beta of 1.12, so investors should note that it is hypothetically more volatile than the market at large. Another factor to consider is alpha, as it reflects a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark-in this case, the S&P 500. WAMVX's 5-year performance has produced a negative alpha of -0.73, which means 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 1.66% compared to the category average of 1.20%. So, WAMVX is actually more expensive than its peers from a cost perspective.
While the minimum initial investment for the product is $2,000, investors should also note that each subsequent investment needs to be at least $100.
Bottom Line
Overall, Wasatch Micro Cap Value Fund ( WAMVX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and higher fees, this fund looks like a poor potential choice for investors right now.
For additional information on this product, or to compare it to other mutual funds in the Mutual Fund Equity Report, make sure to go to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for additional information. For analysis of the rest of your portfolio, make sure to visit Zacks.com for our full suite of tools which will help you investigate all of your stocks and funds in one place.
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Is Wasatch Micro Cap Value Fund (WAMVX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
Having trouble finding a Mutual Fund Equity Report fund? Well, Wasatch Micro Cap Value Fund (WAMVX - Free Report) would not be a good potential starting point right now. WAMVX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 5 (Strong Sell), 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 WAMVX. The Wasatch Micro Cap Value Fund made its debut in July of 2003 and WAMVX has managed to accumulate roughly $249.50 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund's current manager, Brian Bythrow, has been in charge of the fund 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 8.43%, 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 9.82%, 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 27.49%, compared to the category average of 25.72%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 23.48% compared to the category average of 23.31%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
The fund has a 5-year beta of 1.12, so investors should note that it is hypothetically more volatile than the market at large. Another factor to consider is alpha, as it reflects a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark-in this case, the S&P 500. WAMVX's 5-year performance has produced a negative alpha of -0.73, which means 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 1.66% compared to the category average of 1.20%. So, WAMVX is actually more expensive than its peers from a cost perspective.
While the minimum initial investment for the product is $2,000, investors should also note that each subsequent investment needs to be at least $100.
Bottom Line
Overall, Wasatch Micro Cap Value Fund ( WAMVX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and higher fees, this fund looks like a poor potential choice for investors right now.
For additional information on this product, or to compare it to other mutual funds in the Mutual Fund Equity Report, make sure to go to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for additional information. For analysis of the rest of your portfolio, make sure to visit Zacks.com for our full suite of tools which will help you investigate all of your stocks and funds in one place.