Looking for a Small Cap Growth fund? You may want to consider ClearBridge Small Cap Growth A (SASMX Quick QuoteSASMX - Free Report) as a possible option. SASMX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

SASMX is one of many different Small Cap Growth funds to choose from. Small Cap Growth mutual funds build portfolios around stocks with markets caps under $2 billion and large growth opportunities. Additionally, these portfolios typically highlight smaller companies in promising markets and industries.

History of Fund/Manager

SASMX is a part of the Franklin family of funds, a company based out of San Mateo, CA. ClearBridge Small Cap Growth A made its debut in August of 1999, and since then, SASMX has accumulated about $879.61 million in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund's current manager, Aram E. Green, has been in charge of the fund since March of 2007.

Performance

Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. SASMX has a 5-year annualized total return of 5.97% and it sits in the bottom third among its category peers. If you're interested in shorter time frames, do not dismiss looking at the fund's 3 -year annualized total return of -8.43%, which places it in the bottom 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 SASMX over the past three years is 22.96% compared to the category average of 0%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 24.25% compared to the category average of 19%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

With a 5-year beta of 1.16, the fund is likely to be more volatile than the market average. Alpha is an additional metric to take into consideration, since it represents a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which in this case, is the S&P 500. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a negative alpha of -9.58. This means 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.

Right now, 91.93% of this mutual fund's holdings are stocks, and these companies have an average market capitalization of $6.49 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:

• Technology
• Industrial Cyclical

With turnover at about 20%, this fund is making more trades per year than the comparable average.

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, SASMX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.19% compared to the category average of 41%. SASMX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.

Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $1,000 and that each subsequent investment needs to be at $50

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 weak performance, worse downside risk, and lower fees, ClearBridge Small Cap Growth A ( SASMX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and therefore looks a somewhat average choice for investors right now.

For additional information on the Small Cap Growth 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 SASMX too 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.