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Is Driehaus International Small Cap Growth (DRIOX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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Mutual Fund Equity Report fund seekers should not consider taking a look at Driehaus International Small Cap Growth (DRIOX - Free Report) at this time. DRIOX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 4 (Sell), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
History of Fund/Manager
Driehaus is based in Chicago, IL, and is the manager of DRIOX. The Driehaus International Small Cap Growth made its debut in September of 2007 and DRIOX has managed to accumulate roughly $205.56 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 7.65%, and is 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 -0.62%, 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, DRIOX's standard deviation comes in at 18.5%, compared to the category average of 20.4%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 20.25% compared to the category average of 20.9%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
Investors should note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 0.97, which means it is hypothetically as volatile as 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. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a negative alpha of -3.78. 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, DRIOX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.16% compared to the category average of 1.22%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, DRIOX is actually cheaper than its peers.
Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $10,000; each subsequent investment needs to be at least $2,000.
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 strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Driehaus International Small Cap Growth ( DRIOX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and therefore looks a somewhat weak choice for investors right now.
For additional information on the Mutual Fund Equity Report area of the mutual fund world, make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds. There, you can see more about the ranking process, and dive even deeper into DRIOX too for additional information. For analysis of the rest of your portfolio, make sure to visit Zacks.com for our full suite of tools which will help you investigate all of your stocks and funds in one place.
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Is Driehaus International Small Cap Growth (DRIOX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
Mutual Fund Equity Report fund seekers should not consider taking a look at Driehaus International Small Cap Growth (DRIOX - Free Report) at this time. DRIOX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 4 (Sell), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
History of Fund/Manager
Driehaus is based in Chicago, IL, and is the manager of DRIOX. The Driehaus International Small Cap Growth made its debut in September of 2007 and DRIOX has managed to accumulate roughly $205.56 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 7.65%, and is 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 -0.62%, 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, DRIOX's standard deviation comes in at 18.5%, compared to the category average of 20.4%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 20.25% compared to the category average of 20.9%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
Investors should note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 0.97, which means it is hypothetically as volatile as 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. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a negative alpha of -3.78. 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, DRIOX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.16% compared to the category average of 1.22%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, DRIOX is actually cheaper than its peers.
Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $10,000; each subsequent investment needs to be at least $2,000.
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 strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Driehaus International Small Cap Growth ( DRIOX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and therefore looks a somewhat weak choice for investors right now.
For additional information on the Mutual Fund Equity Report area of the mutual fund world, make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds. There, you can see more about the ranking process, and dive even deeper into DRIOX too for additional information. For analysis of the rest of your portfolio, make sure to visit Zacks.com for our full suite of tools which will help you investigate all of your stocks and funds in one place.