Investors in search of an All Cap Growth fund might want to consider looking at Driehaus International Small Cap Growth (DRIOX Quick QuoteDRIOX - Free Report) . While this fund is not tracked by the Zacks Mutual Fund Rank, we were able to examine other factors like performance, volatility, and cost.

Objective

DRIOX is part of the All Cap Growth category, which is a segment that boasts an array of other possible options. All Cap Growth mutual funds aim to invest in various equity securities, regardless of company size that exhibit growth characteristics. These portfolios have holdings across the cap levels-- small, medium and large-cap-- in order to increase diversification throughout the fund.

History of Fund/Manager

DRIOX finds itself in the Driehaus family, based out of Chicago, IL. Driehaus International Small Cap Growth debuted in September of 2007. Since then, DRIOX has accumulated assets of about $310.44 million, according to the most recently available information. The fund's current manager is a team of investment professionals.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 5.93%, and is in the top third among its category peers. If you're interested in shorter time frames, do not dismiss looking at the fund's 3-year annualized total return of 6.45%, 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. The standard deviation of DRIOX over the past three years is 12.61% compared to the category average of 12.62%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 11.55% compared to the category average of 12.65%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

Investors cannot discount the risks to this segment though, as it is always important to remember the downside for any potential investment. DRIOX lost 58.88% in the most recent bear market and underperformed its peer group by 0.46%. This means that the fund could possibly be a worse choice than its peers during a down market environment.

Nevertheless, with a 5-year beta of 0.78, the fund is likely to be less volatile than the market average. 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. With a negative alpha of -2.42, 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, DRIOX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.71% compared to the category average of 1.25%. DRIOX is actually more expensive than its peers when you consider factors like cost.

Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $10,000 and that each subsequent investment needs to be at $2,000.

Bottom Line

For additional information on this product, or to compare it to other mutual funds in the All Cap Growth, make sure to go to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for additional information. And don't forget, Zacks has all of your needs covered on the equity side too! Make sure to check out Zacks.com for more information on our screening capabilities, Rank, and all our articles as well.