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Is Dreyfus/Boston Small Cap Growth I (SSETX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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If investors are looking at the Small Cap Growth fund category, make sure to pass over Dreyfus/Boston Small Cap Growth I (SSETX - Free Report) . SSETX holds 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 SSETX. 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
SSETX finds itself in the BNY Mellon family, based out of New York, NY. Dreyfus/Boston Small Cap Growth I debuted in December of 1996. Since then, SSETX has accumulated assets of about $10.51 million, according to the most recently available information. John Porter is the fund's current manager and has held that role since March of 2017.
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 5.87%, and is in the middle 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 -9.67%, 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. Over the past three years, SSETX's standard deviation comes in at 22.22%, compared to the category average of 18.04%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 24.75% compared to the category average of 19.49%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
With a 5-year beta of 1.09, 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. SSETX has generated a negative alpha over the past five years of -6.36, 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 mostly on equities that are traded in the United States.
As of the last filing date, the mutual fund has 89.92% of its assets in stocks, and these companies have an average market capitalization of $5.85 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
Technology
Health
Other
Industrial Cyclical
Turnover is 65.43%, which means, on average, the 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, SSETX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1% compared to the category average of 1.07%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, SSETX is actually cheaper than its peers.
Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $1,000; each subsequent investment needs to 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, Dreyfus/Boston Small Cap Growth I ( SSETX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, worse downside risk, and lower fees, Dreyfus/Boston Small Cap Growth I ( SSETX ) looks like a somewhat weak choice for investors right now.
Want even more information about SSETX? 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. For analysis of the rest of your portfolio, make sure to visit Zacks.com for our full suite of tools which will help you investigate all of your stocks and funds in one place.
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Is Dreyfus/Boston Small Cap Growth I (SSETX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
If investors are looking at the Small Cap Growth fund category, make sure to pass over Dreyfus/Boston Small Cap Growth I (SSETX - Free Report) . SSETX holds 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 SSETX. 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
SSETX finds itself in the BNY Mellon family, based out of New York, NY. Dreyfus/Boston Small Cap Growth I debuted in December of 1996. Since then, SSETX has accumulated assets of about $10.51 million, according to the most recently available information. John Porter is the fund's current manager and has held that role since March of 2017.
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 5.87%, and is in the middle 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 -9.67%, 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. Over the past three years, SSETX's standard deviation comes in at 22.22%, compared to the category average of 18.04%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 24.75% compared to the category average of 19.49%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
With a 5-year beta of 1.09, 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. SSETX has generated a negative alpha over the past five years of -6.36, 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 mostly on equities that are traded in the United States.
As of the last filing date, the mutual fund has 89.92% of its assets in stocks, and these companies have an average market capitalization of $5.85 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
- Technology
- Health
- Other
- Industrial Cyclical
Turnover is 65.43%, which means, on average, the 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, SSETX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1% compared to the category average of 1.07%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, SSETX is actually cheaper than its peers.
Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $1,000; each subsequent investment needs to 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, Dreyfus/Boston Small Cap Growth I ( SSETX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, worse downside risk, and lower fees, Dreyfus/Boston Small Cap Growth I ( SSETX ) looks like a somewhat weak choice for investors right now.
Want even more information about SSETX? 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. For analysis of the rest of your portfolio, make sure to visit Zacks.com for our full suite of tools which will help you investigate all of your stocks and funds in one place.