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Is Vericimetry U.S. Small Cap Value Fund (VYSVX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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If you've been stuck searching for Mutual Fund Equity Report funds, consider Vericimetry U.S. Small Cap Value Fund (VYSVX - Free Report) as a possibility. VYSVX possesses 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

Vericimetry is responsible for VYSVX, and the company is based out of Pasadena, CA. Vericimetry U.S. Small Cap Value Fund debuted in December of 2011. Since then, VYSVX has accumulated assets of about $182 million, according to the most recently available information. The fund's current manager, Mendel Fygenson, has been in charge of the fund since September of 2014.

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 6.9%, 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 13.29%, 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. Compared to the category average of 27.69%, the standard deviation of VYSVX over the past three years is 27.84%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 24.76% compared to the category average of 24.63%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

Investors should not forget about beta, an important way to measure a mutual fund's risk compared to the market as a whole. VYSVX has a 5-year beta of 1.15, which means it is likely to be more volatile than the market average. 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. VYSVX has generated a negative alpha over the past five years of -3.9, demonstrating that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick 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 largely on equities that are traded in the United States.

Currently, this mutual fund is holding 96.06% stock in stocks, and these companies have an average market capitalization of $3.36 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:

  1. Finance
  2. Other
  3. Industrial Cyclical
Turnover is 72%, which means this fund makes more traders than comparable funds in a given year.

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, VYSVX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.60% compared to the category average of 1.22%. VYSVX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.

While the minimum initial investment for the product is $0, investors should also note that there is no minimum for each subsequent investment.

Bottom Line

Overall, Vericimetry U.S. Small Cap Value Fund ( VYSVX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a good potential 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. Want to learn even more? We have a full suite of tools on stocks that you can use to find the best choices for your portfolio too, no matter what kind of investor you are.


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