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Is BlackRock Small Cap Growth Equity A (CSGEX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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If you've been stuck searching for Mutual Fund Equity Report funds, consider BlackRock Small Cap Growth Equity A (CSGEX - Free Report) as a possibility. CSGEX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
History of Fund/Manager
CSGEX is a part of the BlackRock family of funds, a company based out of New York, NY. The BlackRock Small Cap Growth Equity A made its debut in September of 1993 and CSGEX has managed to accumulate roughly $148.73 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. A team of investment professionals is the fund's current manager.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 2.35%, and is 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 1.36%, 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. CSGEX's standard deviation over the past three years is 22.94% compared to the category average of 16.29%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 24.71% compared to the category average of 17.56%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
With a 5-year beta of 1.16, the fund is likely to be more volatile than the market average. Because alpha represents a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which is the S&P 500 in this case, one should pay attention to this metric as well. CSGEX has generated a negative alpha over the past five years of -7.14, 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 principally on equities that are traded in the United States.
Currently, this mutual fund is holding 84.02% in stocks and it has a negligible amount of assets in foreign securities. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
Technology
Health
Industrial Cyclical
Turnover is 124%, which means, on average, the fund makes more trades in a given year than the average of comparable funds.
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 1.19%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, CSGEX is actually cheaper than its peers.
While the minimum initial investment for the product is $1,000, investors should also note that each subsequent investment needs to 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, even with its comparatively weak performance, worse downside risk, and lower fees, BlackRock Small Cap Growth Equity A ( CSGEX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and therefore looks a great potential choice for investors right now.
Want even more information about CSGEX? 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. 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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Is BlackRock Small Cap Growth Equity A (CSGEX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
If you've been stuck searching for Mutual Fund Equity Report funds, consider BlackRock Small Cap Growth Equity A (CSGEX - Free Report) as a possibility. CSGEX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
History of Fund/Manager
CSGEX is a part of the BlackRock family of funds, a company based out of New York, NY. The BlackRock Small Cap Growth Equity A made its debut in September of 1993 and CSGEX has managed to accumulate roughly $148.73 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. A team of investment professionals is the fund's current manager.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 2.35%, and is 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 1.36%, 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. CSGEX's standard deviation over the past three years is 22.94% compared to the category average of 16.29%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 24.71% compared to the category average of 17.56%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
With a 5-year beta of 1.16, the fund is likely to be more volatile than the market average. Because alpha represents a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which is the S&P 500 in this case, one should pay attention to this metric as well. CSGEX has generated a negative alpha over the past five years of -7.14, 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 principally on equities that are traded in the United States.
Currently, this mutual fund is holding 84.02% in stocks and it has a negligible amount of assets in foreign securities. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
- Technology
- Health
- Industrial Cyclical
Turnover is 124%, which means, on average, the fund makes more trades in a given year than the average of comparable funds.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 1.19%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, CSGEX is actually cheaper than its peers.
While the minimum initial investment for the product is $1,000, investors should also note that each subsequent investment needs to 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, even with its comparatively weak performance, worse downside risk, and lower fees, BlackRock Small Cap Growth Equity A ( CSGEX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and therefore looks a great potential choice for investors right now.
Want even more information about CSGEX? 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. 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.