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Is Federated Kaufmann Small Cap C (FKCSX) 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 Federated Kaufmann Small Cap C (FKCSX - Free Report) . FKCSX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
FKCSX 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
Federated is based in Pittsburgh, PA, and is the manager of FKCSX. Since Federated Kaufmann Small Cap C made its debut in December of 2002, FKCSX has garnered more than $194.59 million in assets. The fund is currently managed by a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. FKCSX has a 5-year annualized total return of 16.73% 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 14.31%, which places it in the top third during this time-frame.
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, FKCSX's standard deviation comes in at 15.89%, compared to the category average of 9.71%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 15.1% compared to the category average of 9.54%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
Investors should always remember the downsides to a potential investment, and this segment carries some risks one should be aware of. In the most recent bear market, FKCSX lost 56.59% and outperformed its peer group by 3.46%. This might suggest that the fund is a better choice than its peers during a bear market.
Nevertheless, with a 5-year beta of 1.06, 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. FKCSX's 5-year performance has produced a positive alpha of 3.25, which means managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
Holdings
Investigating 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 principally on equities that are traded in the United States.
The mutual fund currently has 88.41% of its holdings in stocks, with an average market capitalization of $3.62 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
Finance
Technology
Health
This fund's turnover is about 44%, so the fund managers are making fewer trades than its comparable peers.
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, FKCSX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.96% compared to the category average of 1.31%. So, FKCSX is actually more expensive than its peers from a cost perspective.
This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $1,500, and each subsequent investment should be at least $100.
Bottom Line
Overall, Federated Kaufmann Small Cap C has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, worse downside risk, and higher fees, Federated Kaufmann Small Cap C looks like a good potential 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. 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 Federated Kaufmann Small Cap C (FKCSX) 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 Federated Kaufmann Small Cap C (FKCSX - Free Report) . FKCSX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
FKCSX 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
Federated is based in Pittsburgh, PA, and is the manager of FKCSX. Since Federated Kaufmann Small Cap C made its debut in December of 2002, FKCSX has garnered more than $194.59 million in assets. The fund is currently managed by a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. FKCSX has a 5-year annualized total return of 16.73% 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 14.31%, which places it in the top third during this time-frame.
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, FKCSX's standard deviation comes in at 15.89%, compared to the category average of 9.71%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 15.1% compared to the category average of 9.54%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
Investors should always remember the downsides to a potential investment, and this segment carries some risks one should be aware of. In the most recent bear market, FKCSX lost 56.59% and outperformed its peer group by 3.46%. This might suggest that the fund is a better choice than its peers during a bear market.
Nevertheless, with a 5-year beta of 1.06, 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. FKCSX's 5-year performance has produced a positive alpha of 3.25, which means managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
Holdings
Investigating 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 principally on equities that are traded in the United States.
The mutual fund currently has 88.41% of its holdings in stocks, with an average market capitalization of $3.62 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
This fund's turnover is about 44%, so the fund managers are making fewer trades than its comparable peers.
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, FKCSX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.96% compared to the category average of 1.31%. So, FKCSX is actually more expensive than its peers from a cost perspective.
This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $1,500, and each subsequent investment should be at least $100.
Bottom Line
Overall, Federated Kaufmann Small Cap C has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, worse downside risk, and higher fees, Federated Kaufmann Small Cap C looks like a good potential 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. 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.