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Is BlackRock Small Cap Growth Equity A (CSGEX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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On the lookout for a Small Cap Growth fund? Starting with BlackRock Small Cap Growth Equity A (CSGEX - Free Report) is one possibility. CSGEX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
The world of Small Cap Growth funds is an area filled with options, such as CSGEX. These funds tend to create their portfolios around stocks that sport large growth opportunities and market capitalization of less than $2 billion. The companies in these portfolios are usually on the smaller side, and are in up-and-coming industries and markets.
History of Fund/Manager
BlackRock is based in New York, NY, and is the manager of CSGEX. The BlackRock Small Cap Growth Equity A made its debut in September of 1993 and CSGEX has managed to accumulate roughly $128.94 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund's current manager is a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 2.01%, and is in the middle third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 0.82%, 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. Compared to the category average of 11.44%, the standard deviation of CSGEX over the past three years is 20.9%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 19.11% compared to the category average of 11.26%. 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, CSGEX lost 50.99% and outperformed its peer group by 2%. This makes the fund a possibly better choice than its peers during a sliding market environment.
Nevertheless, with a 5-year beta of 1.24, 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. With a negative alpha of -5, managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
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, CSGEX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.75% compared to the category average of 1.23%. CSGEX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.
Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $1,000 and that each subsequent investment needs to be at $50.
Bottom Line
Overall, BlackRock Small Cap Growth Equity A ( CSGEX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, worse downside risk, and lower fees, BlackRock Small Cap Growth Equity A ( CSGEX ) looks like a great potential choice for investors right now.
Don't stop here for your research on Small Cap Growth 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 CSGEX to its peers as well for additional information. Want to learn even more? We have a full suite of tools on stocks that you can use to find the best choices for your portfolio too, no matter what kind of investor you are.
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Is BlackRock Small Cap Growth Equity A (CSGEX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
On the lookout for a Small Cap Growth fund? Starting with BlackRock Small Cap Growth Equity A (CSGEX - Free Report) is one possibility. CSGEX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
The world of Small Cap Growth funds is an area filled with options, such as CSGEX. These funds tend to create their portfolios around stocks that sport large growth opportunities and market capitalization of less than $2 billion. The companies in these portfolios are usually on the smaller side, and are in up-and-coming industries and markets.
History of Fund/Manager
BlackRock is based in New York, NY, and is the manager of CSGEX. The BlackRock Small Cap Growth Equity A made its debut in September of 1993 and CSGEX has managed to accumulate roughly $128.94 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund's current manager is a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 2.01%, and is in the middle third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 0.82%, 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. Compared to the category average of 11.44%, the standard deviation of CSGEX over the past three years is 20.9%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 19.11% compared to the category average of 11.26%. 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, CSGEX lost 50.99% and outperformed its peer group by 2%. This makes the fund a possibly better choice than its peers during a sliding market environment.
Nevertheless, with a 5-year beta of 1.24, 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. With a negative alpha of -5, managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
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, CSGEX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.75% compared to the category average of 1.23%. CSGEX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.
Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $1,000 and that each subsequent investment needs to be at $50.
Bottom Line
Overall, BlackRock Small Cap Growth Equity A ( CSGEX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, worse downside risk, and lower fees, BlackRock Small Cap Growth Equity A ( CSGEX ) looks like a great potential choice for investors right now.
Don't stop here for your research on Small Cap Growth 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 CSGEX to its peers as well for additional information. Want to learn even more? We have a full suite of tools on stocks that you can use to find the best choices for your portfolio too, no matter what kind of investor you are.