Yahoo Finance Is BlackRock Small Cap Growth Equity A (CSGEX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
If you've been stuck searching for Small Cap Growth funds, consider BlackRock Small Cap Growth Equity A (CSGEX) as a possibility. CSGEX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on various 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 responsible for CSGEX, and the company is based out of New York, NY. BlackRock Small Cap Growth Equity A debuted in September of 1993. Since then, CSGEX has accumulated assets of about $161.50 million, according to the most recently available information. The fund's current manager is a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. CSGEX has a 5-year annualized total return of 8.28% and it sits in the middle 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 -1.84%, which places it in the middle third during this time-frame.
It is important to note that the product's returns may not reflect all its expenses. Any fees not reflected would lower the returns. Total returns do not reflect the fund's [%] sale charge. If sales charges were included, total returns would have been lower.
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, CSGEX's standard deviation comes in at 21.99%, compared to the category average of 16.15%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 24.09% compared to the category average of 17.35%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
Investors should not forget about beta, an important way to measure a mutual fund's risk compared to the market as a whole. CSGEX has a 5-year beta of 1.15, which means it 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. The fund has produced a negative alpha over the past 5 years of -6.72, which shows that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick 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 primarily on equities that are traded in the United States.
Currently, this mutual fund is holding 83.6% in stocks, which have an average market capitalization of $3.90 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
Technology
Health
Industrial Cyclical
Other
With turnover at about 133%, this fund is making more traders than comparable funds in a given year.
Expenses
For investors, taking a closer look at cost-related metrics is key, since costs are increasingly important for mutual fund investing. Competition is heating up in this space, and a lower cost product will likely outperform its otherwise identical counterpart, all things being equal. In terms of fees, CSGEX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.75% compared to the category average of 1.01%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, CSGEX is actually cheaper than its peers.
This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $1,000, and each subsequent investment should be at least $50.
Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.
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, this fund looks like a great potential choice for investors right now.
This could just be the start of your research on CSGEXin the Small Cap Growth category. Consider going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for additional information about this fund, and all the others that we rank as well 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.
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