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Is MassMutual Select Small Cap Growth Equity I (MSGZX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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On the lookout for a Small Cap Growth fund? Starting with MassMutual Select Small Cap Growth Equity I (MSGZX - Free Report) is one possibility. MSGZX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
MSGZX 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
MSGZX is a part of the MassMutual family of funds, a company based out of Springfield, MA. The MassMutual Select Small Cap Growth Equity I made its debut in November of 2010 and MSGZX has managed to accumulate roughly $464.36 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund's current manager is a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. MSGZX has a 5-year annualized total return of 6.06%, 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 18.8%, 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. MSGZX's standard deviation over the past three years is 18.67% compared to the category average of 12.37%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 20.08% compared to the category average of 14.03%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
With a 5-year beta of 1.12, 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 -7.17, 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 primarily on equities that are traded in the United States.
Right now, 81.11% of this mutual fund's holdings are stocks, which have an average market capitalization of $9.98 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
Technology
Health
Industrial Cyclical
Finance
This fund's turnover is about 78%, so the fund managers are making fewer trades than comparable funds.
Expenses
Costs are increasingly important for mutual fund investing, and particularly as competition heats up in this market. And all things being equal, a lower cost product will outperform its otherwise identical counterpart, so taking a closer look at these metrics is key for investors. In terms of fees, MSGZX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.88% compared to the category average of 0.97%. MSGZX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.
While the minimum initial investment for the product is $0, 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, MassMutual Select Small Cap Growth Equity I ( MSGZX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, worse downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a good potential 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 MSGZX too 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.
View the Zacks #1 Rank List
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Is MassMutual Select Small Cap Growth Equity I (MSGZX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
On the lookout for a Small Cap Growth fund? Starting with MassMutual Select Small Cap Growth Equity I (MSGZX - Free Report) is one possibility. MSGZX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
MSGZX 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
MSGZX is a part of the MassMutual family of funds, a company based out of Springfield, MA. The MassMutual Select Small Cap Growth Equity I made its debut in November of 2010 and MSGZX has managed to accumulate roughly $464.36 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund's current manager is a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. MSGZX has a 5-year annualized total return of 6.06%, 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 18.8%, 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. MSGZX's standard deviation over the past three years is 18.67% compared to the category average of 12.37%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 20.08% compared to the category average of 14.03%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
With a 5-year beta of 1.12, 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 -7.17, 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 primarily on equities that are traded in the United States.
Right now, 81.11% of this mutual fund's holdings are stocks, which have an average market capitalization of $9.98 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
This fund's turnover is about 78%, so the fund managers are making fewer trades than comparable funds.
Expenses
Costs are increasingly important for mutual fund investing, and particularly as competition heats up in this market. And all things being equal, a lower cost product will outperform its otherwise identical counterpart, so taking a closer look at these metrics is key for investors. In terms of fees, MSGZX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.88% compared to the category average of 0.97%. MSGZX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.
While the minimum initial investment for the product is $0, 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, MassMutual Select Small Cap Growth Equity I ( MSGZX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, worse downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a good potential 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 MSGZX too 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.