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Is TETON Westwood Small Cap Equity A (WWSAX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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Any investors hoping to find a Small Cap Blend fund could think about starting with TETON Westwood Small Cap Equity A (WWSAX - Free Report) . WWSAX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
We classify WWSAX in the Small Cap Blend category, an area rife with potential choices. Small Cap Blend mutual funds usually target companies with a market capitalization of less than $2 billion. A small-cap blend mutual fund allows investors to diversify their funds among various types of small-cap stocks, which can help reduce the volatility inherent in lower market cap companies.
History of Fund/Manager
TETON is based in Rye, NY, and is the manager of WWSAX. The TETON Westwood Small Cap Equity A made its debut in November of 2006 and WWSAX has managed to accumulate roughly $10.05 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. Joseph Gabelli is the fund's current manager and has held that role since May of 2025.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 12.32%, and it sits 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 21.01%, 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, WWSAX's standard deviation comes in at 19.32%, compared to the category average of 12.86%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 19.81% compared to the category average of 14.49%. 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. WWSAX has a 5-year beta of 0.96, which means it is likely to be less volatile than 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. WWSAX's 5-year performance has produced a positive alpha of 0.68, which means managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking 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, WWSAX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.25% compared to the category average of 0.95%. From a cost perspective, WWSAX is actually more expensive than its peers.
While the minimum initial investment for the product is $1,000, investors should also note that there is no minimum for each subsequent investment.
Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into consideration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Bottom Line
Overall, even with its comparatively strong performance, worse downside risk, and higher fees, TETON Westwood Small Cap Equity A ( WWSAX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and therefore looks a good potential choice for investors right now.
Don't stop here for your research on Small Cap Blend funds. We also have plenty more on our site in order to help you find the best possible fund for your portfolio. Make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for more information about the world of funds, and feel free to compare WWSAX to its peers 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.
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Is TETON Westwood Small Cap Equity A (WWSAX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
Any investors hoping to find a Small Cap Blend fund could think about starting with TETON Westwood Small Cap Equity A (WWSAX - Free Report) . WWSAX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
We classify WWSAX in the Small Cap Blend category, an area rife with potential choices. Small Cap Blend mutual funds usually target companies with a market capitalization of less than $2 billion. A small-cap blend mutual fund allows investors to diversify their funds among various types of small-cap stocks, which can help reduce the volatility inherent in lower market cap companies.
History of Fund/Manager
TETON is based in Rye, NY, and is the manager of WWSAX. The TETON Westwood Small Cap Equity A made its debut in November of 2006 and WWSAX has managed to accumulate roughly $10.05 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. Joseph Gabelli is the fund's current manager and has held that role since May of 2025.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 12.32%, and it sits 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 21.01%, 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, WWSAX's standard deviation comes in at 19.32%, compared to the category average of 12.86%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 19.81% compared to the category average of 14.49%. 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. WWSAX has a 5-year beta of 0.96, which means it is likely to be less volatile than 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. WWSAX's 5-year performance has produced a positive alpha of 0.68, which means managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking 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, WWSAX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.25% compared to the category average of 0.95%. From a cost perspective, WWSAX is actually more expensive than its peers.
While the minimum initial investment for the product is $1,000, investors should also note that there is no minimum for each subsequent investment.
Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into consideration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Bottom Line
Overall, even with its comparatively strong performance, worse downside risk, and higher fees, TETON Westwood Small Cap Equity A ( WWSAX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and therefore looks a good potential choice for investors right now.
Don't stop here for your research on Small Cap Blend funds. We also have plenty more on our site in order to help you find the best possible fund for your portfolio. Make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for more information about the world of funds, and feel free to compare WWSAX to its peers 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.