Any investors hoping to find a Small Cap Growth fund could think about starting with Hartford Small Company HLS IB (HDMBX Quick QuoteHDMBX - Free Report) . HDMBX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

HDMBX 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

Hartford is responsible for HDMBX, and the company is based out of Woodbury, MN. Since Hartford Small Company HLS IB made its debut in October of 2002, HDMBX has garnered more than $34.61 million in assets. The fund is currently managed by Ranjit Ramachandran who has been in charge of the fund since February of 2020.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 1.81%, and it sits in the middle 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 14.61%, which places it in the middle 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. HDMBX's standard deviation over the past three years is 18.52% compared to the category average of 15.6%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 20.27% compared to the category average of 16.89%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

With a 5-year beta of 1.13, the fund is likely to be more 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. HDMBX has generated a negative alpha over the past five years of -10.99, demonstrating that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

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, HDMBX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.05% compared to the category average of 1.05%. So, HDMBX is actually on par with its peers from a cost perspective.

This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $0, while 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, Hartford Small Company HLS IB ( HDMBX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and on par fees, Hartford Small Company HLS IB ( HDMBX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.

For additional information on this product, or to compare it to other mutual funds in the Small Cap Growth, make sure to go to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for additional information. Zacks provides a full suite of tools to help you analyze your portfolio - both funds and stocks - in the most efficient way possible.