| Scorecard |
|---|
|
5 / 5 Stars
|
|
Lipper
5
5
5
2
1
|
|
Zacks Investment Research
5
(Strong Sell)
|
|
Standard & Poor's
4 / 5 Stars
|
|
TheStreet.com
B+
(Buy)
|
U.S. News evaluated 219 Mid-Cap Growth Funds. Our list highlights the top-rated funds for long-term investors based on the ratings of leading fund industry researchers.
See all Delaware Investments funds
Note: Profile written for different share class.
Performance
The fund has returned 19.75 percent over the past year, 19.51 percent over the past three years, 9.64 percent over the past five years, and 10.44 percent over the past decade.
| Trailing Returns | Updated 05.31.2013 |
|---|---|
| Year to date | 15.2% |
| 1 Year | 19.8% |
| 3 Years (Annualized) | 19.5% |
| 5 Years (Annualized) | 9.6% |
| 10 Years (Annualized) | 10.4% |
Summary
Delaware Smid Cap Growth has been on a tremendous run.
As of June 05, 2013, the fund has assets totaling almost $1.23 billion invested in 25 different holdings. Its portfolio consists of shares of small and mid-sized companies.
As its name implies, this fund invests in a mix of small and midsized companies. Lately, it's been leaving the competition in the dust. Last year, the fund returned a whopping 35 percent. That's 20 percentage points better than the broader market. Despite this year's broad mid-year market weakness, this fund has continued to put together impressive numbers. As of June 24, it had returned nearly 14 percent year-to-date. That was good enough to land it in the top percentile of Morningstar's mid-cap growth category. The fund's portfolio is quite concentrated. Weight Watchers International, which as of the end of the first quarter represented upwards of 6 percent of its portfolio, has been a huge contributor to performance this year. The fund has returned 19.75 percent over the past year and 19.51 percent over the past three years.
This fund's recent performance represents a dramatic turnaround. Between 2001 and 2009, the fund didn't finish a single year in the top quarter of its Morningstar category. The catalyst looks to be a change in management. Last year, Christopher Bonavico and Kenneth Broad took over the fund. Since then, the improvement has been quite pronounced. The new managers have made a number of changes to the portfolio, as evidenced by the fund's (temporarily) high turnover ratio. The fund has returned 9.64 percent over the past five years and 10.44 percent over the past decade.
Investment Strategy
According to the fund's prospectus: "Using a bottom-up approach, we seek to select securities of companies that we believe have attractive end market potential, dominant business models, and strong free cash flow generation that are attractively priced compared to intrinsic value of the securities. We also consider a company's operational efficiencies, management's plans for capital allocation, and the company's shareholder orientation. All of these factors give us insight into the outlook for a company, helping us identify companies poised for sustainable free cash flow growth. We believe that sustainable free cash flow growth, if it occurs, may result in price appreciation for the company's stock."
Role in Portfolio
Morningstar calls this fund a "supporting player."
Management
Christopher Bonavico and Kenneth Broad manage the fund.
