Any investors hoping to find a Small Cap Blend fund might consider looking past Wasatch Core Growth Fund (WGROX Quick QuoteWGROX - Free Report) . WGROX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 5 (Strong Sell), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

Zacks categorizes WGROX as Small Cap Blend, which is an area packed with options. Usually targeting stocks with market caps of less than $2 billion, a Small Cap Blend mutual fund lets investors diversify their funds among other kinds of small-cap equities. This can help reduce risk found in companies that have a lower stock market valuation.

History of Fund/Manager

Wasatch is based in Salt Lake City, UT, and is the manager of WGROX. The Wasatch Core Growth Fund made its debut in November of 1986 and WGROX has managed to accumulate roughly $1.44 billion 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. WGROX has a 5-year annualized total return of 13.12% 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 14.72%, 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, WGROX's standard deviation comes in at 15.83%, compared to the category average of 13.41%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 14.74% compared to the category average of 13.25%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

One cannot ignore the volatility of this segment, however, as it is always important for investors to remember the downside to any potential investment. In the most recent bear market, WGROX lost 55.09% and underperformed comparable funds by 2%. This could mean that the fund is a worse choice than comparable funds during a bear market.

Investors should note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 1.04, so it is likely going to be more volatile than the market at large. 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. With a positive alpha of 2.08, managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking 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.

This fund is currently holding about 93.74% stock in stocks, which have an average market capitalization of $5.27 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:

1. Industrial Cyclical
2. Finance
3. Services
4. Technology
5. Other

Expenses

As competition heats up in the mutual fund market, costs become increasingly important. Compared to its otherwise identical counterpart, a low-cost product will be an outperformer, all other things being equal. Thus, taking a closer look at cost-related metrics is vital for investors. In terms of fees, WGROX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.19% compared to the category average of 1.25%. From a cost perspective, WGROX is actually cheaper than its peers.

This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $2,000, and each subsequent investment should be at least $100.

Bottom Line

Overall, Wasatch Core Growth Fund ( WGROX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a somewhat weak choice for investors right now.

Don't stop here for your research on Small Cap Blend funds. We also have plenty more on our site in order to help you find the best possible fund for your portfolio. Make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for more information about the world of funds, and feel free to compare WGROX to its peers as well for additional information. If you want to check out our stock reports as well, make sure to go to Zacks.com to see all of the great tools we have to offer, including our time-tested Zacks Rank.