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Is Conestoga Small Cap Investors (CCASX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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If you have been looking for Mutual Fund Equity Report funds, a place to start could be Conestoga Small Cap Investors (CCASX - Free Report) . CCASX bears 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
Conestoga is based in Radnor, PA, and is the manager of CCASX. Conestoga Small Cap Investors made its debut in October of 2004, and since then, CCASX has accumulated about $650.16 million in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund is currently managed by Robert Mitchell who has been in charge of the fund since October of 2004.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. CCASX has a 5-year annualized total return of 5.04% and is in the middle third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 1.33%, which places it in the middle 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. The standard deviation of CCASX over the past three years is 20.61% compared to the category average of 18.25%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 20.91% compared to the category average of 19.82%. 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. CCASX has a 5-year beta of 0.99, which means it is likely to be as volatile as the market average. 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. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a negative alpha of -4.84. This means that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
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, CCASX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.10% compared to the category average of 1.05%. So, CCASX is actually more expensive than its peers from a cost perspective.
Investors should also note, that according to our data, the fund does not have any minimum investment requirements.
Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Bottom Line
Overall, even with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and higher fees, Conestoga Small Cap Investors ( CCASX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and therefore looks 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. And don't forget, Zacks has all of your needs covered on the equity side too! Make sure to check out Zacks.com for more information on our screening capabilities, Rank, and all our articles as well.
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Is Conestoga Small Cap Investors (CCASX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
If you have been looking for Mutual Fund Equity Report funds, a place to start could be Conestoga Small Cap Investors (CCASX - Free Report) . CCASX bears 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
Conestoga is based in Radnor, PA, and is the manager of CCASX. Conestoga Small Cap Investors made its debut in October of 2004, and since then, CCASX has accumulated about $650.16 million in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund is currently managed by Robert Mitchell who has been in charge of the fund since October of 2004.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. CCASX has a 5-year annualized total return of 5.04% and is in the middle third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 1.33%, which places it in the middle 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. The standard deviation of CCASX over the past three years is 20.61% compared to the category average of 18.25%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 20.91% compared to the category average of 19.82%. 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. CCASX has a 5-year beta of 0.99, which means it is likely to be as volatile as the market average. 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. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a negative alpha of -4.84. This means that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
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, CCASX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.10% compared to the category average of 1.05%. So, CCASX is actually more expensive than its peers from a cost perspective.
Investors should also note, that according to our data, the fund does not have any minimum investment requirements.
Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Bottom Line
Overall, even with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and higher fees, Conestoga Small Cap Investors ( CCASX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and therefore looks 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. And don't forget, Zacks has all of your needs covered on the equity side too! Make sure to check out Zacks.com for more information on our screening capabilities, Rank, and all our articles as well.