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Is Bridgeway Small Cap Value N (BRSVX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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Any investors hoping to find a Mutual Fund Equity Report fund could think about starting with Bridgeway Small Cap Value N (BRSVX - Free Report) . BRSVX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

History of Fund/Manager

Bridgeway is based in Houston, TX, and is the manager of BRSVX. Bridgeway Small Cap Value N debuted in January of 2004. Since then, BRSVX has accumulated assets of about $549.58 million, according to the most recently available information. A team of investment professionals is the fund's current manager.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 10.1%, and it sits in the top third among its category peers. But if you are looking for a shorter time frame, it is also worth looking at its 3-year annualized total return of 32.68%, which places it in the top third during this time-frame.

It is important to note that the product's returns may not reflect all its expenses. Any fees not reflected would lower the returns. Total returns do not reflect the fund's [%] sale charge. If sales charges were included, total returns would have been lower.

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, BRSVX's standard deviation comes in at 25.11%, compared to the category average of 21.79%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 26.72% compared to the category average of 25.14%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

With a 5-year beta of 1.11, the fund 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. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a negative alpha of -1.45. This means that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

Holdings

Exploring 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.

As of the last filing date, the mutual fund has 94.05% of its assets in stocks and it has a negligible amount of assets in foreign securities. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:

  • Finance
  • Retail Trade
  • Other
With turnover at about 95%, this fund makes more trades in a given year than the category average.

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, BRSVX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.85% compared to the category average of 1.21%. BRSVX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.

This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $2,000, and each subsequent investment should be at least $100.

Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.

Bottom Line

Overall, Bridgeway Small Cap Value N ( BRSVX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Bridgeway Small Cap Value N ( BRSVX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.

This could just be the start of your research on BRSVXin 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. 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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