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Is Wasatch Micro Cap Fund (WMICX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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On the lookout for a Mutual Fund Equity Report fund? Starting with Wasatch Micro Cap Fund (WMICX - Free Report) should not be a possibility at this time. WMICX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 4 (Sell), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
History of Fund/Manager
Wasatch is based in Salt Lake City, UT, and is the manager of WMICX. Wasatch Micro Cap Fund debuted in June of 1995. Since then, WMICX has accumulated assets of about $697.74 million, according to the most recently available information. The fund's current manager, Kenneth Korngiebel, has been in charge of the fund since July of 2017.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. WMICX has a 5-year annualized total return of 17.2% and it sits in the top third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 11.68%, 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. WMICX's standard deviation over the past three years is 28.63% compared to the category average of 20.16%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 25.16% compared to the category average of 17.88%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
The fund has a 5-year beta of 1.24, so investors should note that it is hypothetically 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 1.76, 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 principally on equities that are traded in the United States.
Right now, 93.85% of this mutual fund's holdings are stocks, with an average market capitalization of $1.93 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
Industrial Cyclical
Technology
Health
Other
With turnover at about 63%, this fund makes fewer trades than its comparable peers.
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, WMICX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.63% compared to the category average of 1.19%. From a cost perspective, WMICX is actually more expensive 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 Micro Cap Fund ( WMICX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, worse downside risk, and higher fees, Wasatch Micro Cap Fund ( WMICX ) looks like a poor potential choice for investors right now.
Your research on the Mutual Fund Equity Report segment doesn't have to stop here. You can check out all the great mutual fund tools we have to offer by going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds to see the additional features we offer 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 Wasatch Micro Cap Fund (WMICX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
On the lookout for a Mutual Fund Equity Report fund? Starting with Wasatch Micro Cap Fund (WMICX - Free Report) should not be a possibility at this time. WMICX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 4 (Sell), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
History of Fund/Manager
Wasatch is based in Salt Lake City, UT, and is the manager of WMICX. Wasatch Micro Cap Fund debuted in June of 1995. Since then, WMICX has accumulated assets of about $697.74 million, according to the most recently available information. The fund's current manager, Kenneth Korngiebel, has been in charge of the fund since July of 2017.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. WMICX has a 5-year annualized total return of 17.2% and it sits in the top third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 11.68%, 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. WMICX's standard deviation over the past three years is 28.63% compared to the category average of 20.16%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 25.16% compared to the category average of 17.88%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
The fund has a 5-year beta of 1.24, so investors should note that it is hypothetically 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 1.76, 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 principally on equities that are traded in the United States.
Right now, 93.85% of this mutual fund's holdings are stocks, with an average market capitalization of $1.93 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
- Industrial Cyclical
- Technology
- Health
- Other
With turnover at about 63%, this fund makes fewer trades than its comparable peers.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, WMICX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.63% compared to the category average of 1.19%. From a cost perspective, WMICX is actually more expensive 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 Micro Cap Fund ( WMICX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, worse downside risk, and higher fees, Wasatch Micro Cap Fund ( WMICX ) looks like a poor potential choice for investors right now.
Your research on the Mutual Fund Equity Report segment doesn't have to stop here. You can check out all the great mutual fund tools we have to offer by going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds to see the additional features we offer 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.