Any investors hoping to find a Small Cap Growth fund could think about starting with ClearBridge Small Cap Growth A (SASMX Quick QuoteSASMX - Free Report) . 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 part of the Small Cap Growth category, and this segment boasts an array of many other possible options. Small Cap Growth mutual funds usually focus their portfolios on stocks with large growth opportunities and a market cap of under $2 billion. These portfolios tend to feature small companies in up-and-coming industries and markets.

History of Fund/Manager

Franklin is based in San Mateo, CA, and is the manager of SASMX. The ClearBridge Small Cap Growth A made its debut in August of 1999 and SASMX has managed to accumulate roughly $779.02 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund's current manager, Aram E. Green, has been in charge of the fund since March of 2007.

Performance

Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 6.86%, and it sits in the bottom 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 -1.5%, 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. SASMX's standard deviation over the past three years is 23.27% compared to the category average of 15.23%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 25.2% compared to the category average of 16.63%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

With a 5-year beta of 1.23, 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 -10.22. 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 principally on equities that are traded in the United States.

Currently, this mutual fund is holding 91.36% in stocks, and these companies have an average market capitalization of $7.06 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:

• Technology
• Industrial Cyclical
• Health

With turnover at about 22%, this fund makes fewer trades than the average comparable fund.

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, SASMX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.19% compared to the category average of 0.98%. So, SASMX is actually more expensive than its peers from a cost perspective.

This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $1,000, and each subsequent investment should be at least $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 higher 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.

Your research on the Small Cap Growth 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. 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.