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Is Dreyfus Select Managers Small Cap Growth I (DSGIX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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Having trouble finding a Small Cap Growth fund? Well, Dreyfus Select Managers Small Cap Growth I would not be a good potential starting point right now. DSGIX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 4 (Sell), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

DSGIX 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

Dreyfus Premier is based in New York, NY, and is the manager of DSGIX. The Dreyfus Select Managers Small Cap Growth I made its debut in July of 2010 and DSGIX has managed to accumulate roughly $16.98 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. A team of investment professionals is the fund's current manager.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. DSGIX has a 5-year annualized total return of 6.87% and it sits in the bottom third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 15.81%, which places it in the middle 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, DSGIX's standard deviation comes in at 15.64%, compared to the category average of 10.63%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 16.57% compared to the category average of 11.04%. This makes the fund more 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.

Nevertheless, with a 5-year beta of 1.17, 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. DSGIX has generated a negative alpha over the past five years of -4.64, demonstrating 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, 76.57% of this mutual fund's holdings are stocks, and these companies have an average market capitalization of $3.28 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:

  1. Technology
  2. Other
  3. Services
  4. Health
Turnover is 95.5%, which means this fund makes more trades in a given year than the average of 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, DSGIX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.01% compared to the category average of 1.22%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, DSGIX is actually cheaper than its peers.

Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $1,000; each subsequent investment needs to be at least $100.

Bottom Line

Overall, Dreyfus Select Managers Small Cap Growth I ( DSGIX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, weak performance, worse downside risk, and lower fees compared to its peers.

Want even more information about DSGIX? Then go over to Zacks.com and check out our mutual fund comparison tool, and all of the other great features that we have to help you with your mutual fund analysis for additional information. If you are more of a stock investor, make sure to also check out our Zacks Rank, and our full suite of tools we have available for novice and professional investors alike.

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