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Is Wasatch Ultra Growth (WAMCX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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If you've been stuck searching for Small Cap Growth funds, you might want to consider passing on by Wasatch Ultra Growth (WAMCX - Free Report) as a possibility. WAMCX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 4 (Sell), 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 WAMCX. 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
Wasatch is based in Salt Lake City, UT, and is the manager of WAMCX. Since Wasatch Ultra Growth made its debut in August of 1992, WAMCX has garnered more than $833.07 million in assets. John Malooly is the fund's current manager and has held that role since January of 2012.
Performance
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 12.41%, and is in the top third among its category peers. If you're interested in shorter time frames, do not dismiss looking at the fund's 3 -year annualized total return of -8.8%, which places it in the bottom 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. Compared to the category average of 18.06%, the standard deviation of WAMCX over the past three years is 26.12%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 27.31% compared to the category average of 19.75%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
Investors should note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 1.21, which means it is hypothetically more volatile than the market at large. 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. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a negative alpha of -3.88. This means that 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, WAMCX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.23% compared to the category average of 1.08%. WAMCX is actually more expensive than its peers when you consider factors like cost.
This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $2,000, and each subsequent investment should be at least $100.
Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Bottom Line
Overall, Wasatch Ultra Growth ( WAMCX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, worse downside risk, and higher fees, Wasatch Ultra Growth ( WAMCX ) looks like a poor potential choice for investors right now.
This could just be the start of your research on WAMCXin 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. 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.
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Is Wasatch Ultra Growth (WAMCX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
If you've been stuck searching for Small Cap Growth funds, you might want to consider passing on by Wasatch Ultra Growth (WAMCX - Free Report) as a possibility. WAMCX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 4 (Sell), 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 WAMCX. 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
Wasatch is based in Salt Lake City, UT, and is the manager of WAMCX. Since Wasatch Ultra Growth made its debut in August of 1992, WAMCX has garnered more than $833.07 million in assets. John Malooly is the fund's current manager and has held that role since January of 2012.
Performance
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 12.41%, and is in the top third among its category peers. If you're interested in shorter time frames, do not dismiss looking at the fund's 3 -year annualized total return of -8.8%, which places it in the bottom 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. Compared to the category average of 18.06%, the standard deviation of WAMCX over the past three years is 26.12%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 27.31% compared to the category average of 19.75%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
Investors should note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 1.21, which means it is hypothetically more volatile than the market at large. 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. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a negative alpha of -3.88. This means that 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, WAMCX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.23% compared to the category average of 1.08%. WAMCX is actually more expensive than its peers when you consider factors like cost.
This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $2,000, and each subsequent investment should be at least $100.
Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.
Bottom Line
Overall, Wasatch Ultra Growth ( WAMCX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, worse downside risk, and higher fees, Wasatch Ultra Growth ( WAMCX ) looks like a poor potential choice for investors right now.
This could just be the start of your research on WAMCXin 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. 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.