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Is BlackRock Small Cap Growth Equity A (CSGEX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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There are plenty of choices in the Small Cap Growth category, but where should you start your research? Well, one fund that might be worth investigating is BlackRock Small Cap Growth Equity A (CSGEX - Free Report) . CSGEX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
The world of Small Cap Growth funds is an area filled with options, such as CSGEX. These funds tend to create their portfolios around stocks that sport large growth opportunities and market capitalization of less than $2 billion. The companies in these portfolios are usually on the smaller side, and are in up-and-coming industries and markets.
History of Fund/Manager
BlackRock is based in New York, NY, and is the manager of CSGEX. BlackRock Small Cap Growth Equity A debuted in September of 1993. Since then, CSGEX has accumulated assets of about $195.29 million, according to 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. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 5.88%, and it sits in the top third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 19.51%, 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. The standard deviation of CSGEX over the past three years is 20.18% compared to the category average of 13.34%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 21.4% compared to the category average of 14.88%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
The fund has a 5-year beta of 1.2, so investors should note that it is hypothetically more volatile than the market at large. 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. CSGEX's 5-year performance has produced a negative alpha of -7.77, which means managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
Holdings
Exploring 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.
Currently, this mutual fund is holding 94.48% in stocks, with an average market capitalization of $7.04 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
Health
Technology
Industrial Cyclical
Turnover is about 120%, so those in charge of the fund make more trades in a given year than the category average.
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, CSGEX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.75% compared to the category average of 0.99%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, CSGEX is actually cheaper than its peers.
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 consideration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Bottom Line
Overall, BlackRock Small Cap Growth Equity A ( CSGEX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, worse downside risk, and lower fees, BlackRock Small Cap Growth Equity A ( CSGEX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
This could just be the start of your research on CSGEX in the Small Cap Growth category. Consider going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for additional information about this fund, and all the others that we rank 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.
View the Zacks #1 Rank List
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Is BlackRock Small Cap Growth Equity A (CSGEX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
There are plenty of choices in the Small Cap Growth category, but where should you start your research? Well, one fund that might be worth investigating is BlackRock Small Cap Growth Equity A (CSGEX - Free Report) . CSGEX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
The world of Small Cap Growth funds is an area filled with options, such as CSGEX. These funds tend to create their portfolios around stocks that sport large growth opportunities and market capitalization of less than $2 billion. The companies in these portfolios are usually on the smaller side, and are in up-and-coming industries and markets.
History of Fund/Manager
BlackRock is based in New York, NY, and is the manager of CSGEX. BlackRock Small Cap Growth Equity A debuted in September of 1993. Since then, CSGEX has accumulated assets of about $195.29 million, according to 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. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 5.88%, and it sits in the top third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 19.51%, 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. The standard deviation of CSGEX over the past three years is 20.18% compared to the category average of 13.34%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 21.4% compared to the category average of 14.88%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
The fund has a 5-year beta of 1.2, so investors should note that it is hypothetically more volatile than the market at large. 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. CSGEX's 5-year performance has produced a negative alpha of -7.77, which means managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
Holdings
Exploring 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.
Currently, this mutual fund is holding 94.48% in stocks, with an average market capitalization of $7.04 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
Turnover is about 120%, so those in charge of the fund make more trades in a given year than the category average.
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, CSGEX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.75% compared to the category average of 0.99%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, CSGEX is actually cheaper than its peers.
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 consideration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Bottom Line
Overall, BlackRock Small Cap Growth Equity A ( CSGEX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, worse downside risk, and lower fees, BlackRock Small Cap Growth Equity A ( CSGEX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
This could just be the start of your research on CSGEX in the Small Cap Growth category. Consider going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for additional information about this fund, and all the others that we rank 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.