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3 Small-Cap Growth Mutual Funds to Buy for Steady Returns

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Small-cap growth funds are natural choices for investors with a high-risk appetite when capital appreciation over the long term takes precedence over dividend payouts. These funds focus on realizing an appreciable amount of capital growth by investing in stocks projected to rise in value over the long term.

Moreover, small-cap funds are good choices for investors seeking diversification across different sectors and companies. These generally invest in companies having a market cap lower than $2 billion. The companies, smaller in size, offer growth potential, and their market capitalization may increase subsequently. Also, due to their lower international exposure, small-cap funds offer higher protection than their large- and mid-cap counterparts against any global downturn.

Below, we share with you three top-ranked small-cap growth mutual funds, namely Vanguard Explorer (VEXPX - Free Report) , TRP Integrated US Small-Cap Growth Equity (PRDSX - Free Report) and Federated Hermes MDT Small Cap Growth (QASGX - Free Report) . Each has earned a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and is expected to outperform its peers in the future. Investors can click here to see the complete list of funds.

Vanguard Explorer invests the majority of its net assets in equity securities of small-cap and mid-cap companies that the advisors believe to have superior growth potential. VEXPX usually invests in companies that provide little to no dividend.

Vanguard Explorer has a three-year annualized return of 3.2%. As of July 2023, VEXPX held 767 issues, with 1% of its assets invested in Icon plc.

TRP Integrated US Small-Cap Growth Equity invests the majority of its assets in common stocks of small-cap growth companies in the United States. It defines small-cap growth companies as those whose market capitalization, at the time of purchase, falls within the range of companies in the MSCI US Small Cap Growth Index.        

TRP Integrated US Small-Cap Growth Equity has three-year annualized returns of 1.7%. PRDSX has an expense ratio of 0.80% compared with the category average of 1.21%.

Federated Hermes MDT Small Cap Growth invests most of its assets in common stocks of small-cap U.S. companies. QASGX advisors consider small-cap companies as those with market capitalization within the range of companies listed on the Russell 2000 Index at the time of purchase.

Federated Hermes MDT Small Cap Growth has a three-year annualized return of 1.5%. Damien Zhang has been one of the fund managers of QASGX since 2018.

To view the Zacks Rank and the past performance of all small-cap growth mutual funds, investors can click here to see the complete list of small-cap growth mutual funds.

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