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Is Wasatch Ultra Growth (WAMCX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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Any investors hoping to find a Small Cap Growth fund might consider looking past Wasatch Ultra Growth (WAMCX - Free Report) . WAMCX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 4 (Sell), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
WAMCX is part of the Small Cap Growth category, and this segment boasts an array of many other possible options. Small Cap Growth mutual funds usually focus their portfolios on stocks with large growth opportunities and a market cap of under $2 billion. These portfolios tend to feature small companies 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. Wasatch Ultra Growth made its debut in August of 1992, and since then, WAMCX has accumulated about $563.89 million in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund is currently managed by John Malooly who has been in charge of the fund since January of 2012.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 6.82%, and it sits in the bottom 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 -3.91%, 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, WAMCX's standard deviation comes in at 26.19%, compared to the category average of 18%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 27.9% compared to the category average of 19.84%. 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 1.29, 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. WAMCX has generated a negative alpha over the past five years of -10.54, demonstrating that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
Expenses
Costs are increasingly important for mutual fund investing, and particularly as competition heats up in this market. And all things being equal, a lower cost product will outperform its otherwise identical counterpart, so taking a closer look at these metrics is key for investors. In terms of fees, WAMCX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.22% compared to the category average of 1.06%. So, WAMCX is actually more expensive than its peers from a cost perspective.
Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $2,000 and that each subsequent investment needs to be at $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 weak performance, worse downside risk, and higher fees, Wasatch Ultra Growth ( WAMCX ) looks like a somewhat weak choice for investors right now.
Want even more information about WAMCX? 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 Wasatch Ultra Growth (WAMCX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
Any investors hoping to find a Small Cap Growth fund might consider looking past Wasatch Ultra Growth (WAMCX - Free Report) . WAMCX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 4 (Sell), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
WAMCX is part of the Small Cap Growth category, and this segment boasts an array of many other possible options. Small Cap Growth mutual funds usually focus their portfolios on stocks with large growth opportunities and a market cap of under $2 billion. These portfolios tend to feature small companies 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. Wasatch Ultra Growth made its debut in August of 1992, and since then, WAMCX has accumulated about $563.89 million in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund is currently managed by John Malooly who has been in charge of the fund since January of 2012.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 6.82%, and it sits in the bottom 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 -3.91%, 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, WAMCX's standard deviation comes in at 26.19%, compared to the category average of 18%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 27.9% compared to the category average of 19.84%. 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 1.29, 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. WAMCX has generated a negative alpha over the past five years of -10.54, demonstrating that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
Expenses
Costs are increasingly important for mutual fund investing, and particularly as competition heats up in this market. And all things being equal, a lower cost product will outperform its otherwise identical counterpart, so taking a closer look at these metrics is key for investors. In terms of fees, WAMCX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.22% compared to the category average of 1.06%. So, WAMCX is actually more expensive than its peers from a cost perspective.
Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $2,000 and that each subsequent investment needs to be at $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 weak performance, worse downside risk, and higher fees, Wasatch Ultra Growth ( WAMCX ) looks like a somewhat weak choice for investors right now.
Want even more information about WAMCX? 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.