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Is ClearBridge Small Cap Growth A (SASMX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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If investors are looking at the Small Cap Growth fund category, make sure to pass over ClearBridge Small Cap Growth A (SASMX - Free Report) . SASMX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 5 (Strong Sell), 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 market 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 debuted in August of 1999. Since then, SASMX has accumulated assets of about $560.90 million, according to the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by Aram E. Green who has been in charge of the fund since March of 2007.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of -0.75%, and is 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 6%, 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. Compared to the category average of 11.71%, the standard deviation of SASMX over the past three years is 20.19%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 21.08% compared to the category average of 13.6%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
With a 5-year beta of 1.18, 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. The fund has produced a negative alpha over the past 5 years of -14.04, which shows 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.
As of the last filing date, the mutual fund has 86.71% of its assets in stocks, which have an average market capitalization of $10.99 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
Technology
Industrial Cyclical
Health
Services
Turnover is 20%, which means this fund makes fewer trades than its comparable peers.
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 0.97%. From a cost perspective, SASMX is actually more expensive than its peers.
Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $1,000; each subsequent investment needs to be at least $50.
Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into consideration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Bottom Line
Overall, ClearBridge Small Cap Growth A ( SASMX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, worse downside risk, and higher fees, ClearBridge Small Cap Growth A ( SASMX ) looks like a somewhat weak 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. Want to learn even more? We have a full suite of tools on stocks that you can use to find the best choices for your portfolio too, no matter what kind of investor you are.
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Is ClearBridge Small Cap Growth A (SASMX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
If investors are looking at the Small Cap Growth fund category, make sure to pass over ClearBridge Small Cap Growth A (SASMX - Free Report) . SASMX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 5 (Strong Sell), 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 market 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 debuted in August of 1999. Since then, SASMX has accumulated assets of about $560.90 million, according to the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by Aram E. Green who has been in charge of the fund since March of 2007.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of -0.75%, and is 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 6%, 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. Compared to the category average of 11.71%, the standard deviation of SASMX over the past three years is 20.19%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 21.08% compared to the category average of 13.6%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
With a 5-year beta of 1.18, 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. The fund has produced a negative alpha over the past 5 years of -14.04, which shows 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.
As of the last filing date, the mutual fund has 86.71% of its assets in stocks, which have an average market capitalization of $10.99 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
Turnover is 20%, which means this fund makes fewer trades than its comparable peers.
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 0.97%. From a cost perspective, SASMX is actually more expensive than its peers.
Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $1,000; each subsequent investment needs to be at least $50.
Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into consideration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Bottom Line
Overall, ClearBridge Small Cap Growth A ( SASMX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, worse downside risk, and higher fees, ClearBridge Small Cap Growth A ( SASMX ) looks like a somewhat weak 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. Want to learn even more? We have a full suite of tools on stocks that you can use to find the best choices for your portfolio too, no matter what kind of investor you are.