| Scorecard |
|---|
|
5 / 5 Stars
|
|
Lipper
5
5
2
3
2
|
|
Zacks Investment Research
3
(Hold)
|
|
Standard & Poor's
5 / 5 Stars
|
|
TheStreet.com
A-
(Buy)
|
#13 in Small Blend
U.S. News evaluated 218 Small Blend Funds. Our list highlights the top-rated funds for long-term investors based on the ratings of leading fund industry researchers.
Performance
The fund has returned 17.79 percent over the past year, 19.34 percent over the past three years, and 12.87 percent over the past five years.
| Trailing Returns | Updated 04.30.2013 |
|---|---|
| Year to date | 10.0% |
| 1 Year | 17.8% |
| 3 Years (Annualized) | 19.3% |
| 5 Years (Annualized) | 12.9% |
| 10 Years (Annualized) | N/A |
Summary
SouthernSun Small Cap has been leaving the competition in the dust.
As of May 03, 2013, the fund has assets totaling almost $592.13 million invested in 25 different holdings. Its portfolio consists of shares of small- and midsized companies.
Last year, this fund returned a whopping 48 percent. To put that into perspective, that's 33 percentage points better than the broader market and 22 percentage points better than the average for Morningstar's small-value category. In 2011, the fund has hardly been immune to the market's mid-year weakness. Nonetheless, it has still held up much better than its peers. In mid-June, when many small-value funds were in the red, this fund's year-to-date returns hovered around 4 percent. To a certain extent, however, the comparison is faulty. While technically a small-value fund, upwards of 60 percent of its stock holdings were, as of the end of the first quarter, in mid-cap companies. During choppy markets like investors have seen this year, mid caps tend to hold up better than smaller companies. Another distinguishing characteristic is this fund's hefty cash stake, which as of the end of the first quarter stood at 15 percent of total assets. That helped soften the blow of the souring market. The fund has returned 17.79 percent over the past year and 19.34 percent over the past three years.
Management runs a compact portfolio. As of the end of the first quarter, the fund owned just upwards of 20 companies. Meanwhile, around 46 percent of its stock holdings were invested in the industrials sector. Such concentration can come with some risks, but overall, the good has been far better than the bad. As of the end of May, the fund's trailing five-year returns landed it in the top percentile of its Morningstar category. The fund has returned 12.87 percent over the past five years.
Investment Strategy
According to the fund's prospectus: "The Fund's portfolio will invest in 20-40 companies the adviser believes are niche dominant, attractively-valued with financial flexibility and uniquely-fitted management teams. ... The Fund generally seeks to buy and hold stocks for the long-term, but will sell holdings that the portfolio manager believes have exceeded their intrinsic market value, become too large a position, experienced a change in fundamentals or are subject to other factors that may contribute to relative under performance."
Role in Portfolio
This fund can lend support to a well-balanced portfolio.
Management
Michael Cook manages the fund.
