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Is Federated Hermes Kaufmann Small Cap A (FKASX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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If you've been stuck searching for Mutual Fund Equity Report funds, you might want to consider passing on by Federated Hermes Kaufmann Small Cap A (FKASX - Free Report) as a possibility. FKASX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 5 (Strong Sell), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

History of Fund/Manager

FKASX finds itself in the Federated family, based out of Pittsburgh, PA. Since Federated Hermes Kaufmann Small Cap A made its debut in December of 2002, FKASX has garnered more than $795.89 million in assets. The fund is currently managed by a team of investment professionals.

Performance

Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 7.42%, and is in the bottom third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 2.95%, which places it in the bottom 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. FKASX's standard deviation over the past three years is 26.41% compared to the category average of 19.06%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 23.52% compared to the category average of 16.92%. 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 1.06, 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. The fund has produced a negative alpha over the past 5 years of -1.77, which shows that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

Holdings

Examining 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 mostly on equities that are traded in the United States.

This fund is currently holding about 93.24% stock in stocks, which have an average market capitalization of $7.38 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:

  • Health
  • Finance
  • Technology
Turnover is about 19%, so those in charge of the fund make fewer trades than comparable funds.

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, FKASX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.35% compared to the category average of 1.19%. FKASX 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 $1,500 and that each subsequent investment needs to be at $100.

Bottom Line

Overall, Federated Hermes Kaufmann Small Cap A ( FKASX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, worse downside risk, and higher fees, Federated Hermes Kaufmann Small Cap A ( FKASX ) looks like a somewhat weak 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. 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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