| Scorecard |
|---|
|
5 / 5 Stars
|
|
Lipper
5
4
4
4
2
|
|
Zacks Investment Research
5
(Strong Sell)
|
|
Standard & Poor's
5 / 5 Stars
|
|
TheStreet.com
B+
(Buy)
|
#19 in Small Growth
U.S. News evaluated 213 Small Growth 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 12.45 percent over the past year, 15.05 percent over the past three years, 9.93 percent over the past five years, and 10.33 percent over the past decade.
| Trailing Returns | Updated 04.30.2013 |
|---|---|
| Year to date | 8.9% |
| 1 Year | 12.4% |
| 3 Years (Annualized) | 15.0% |
| 5 Years (Annualized) | 9.9% |
| 10 Years (Annualized) | 10.3% |
Summary
Manager Jeff Cardon believes there is too much discussion over whether or not small-cap funds are riskier than large-cap funds. His team's focus is on high-quality versus low-quality companies. About 75 percent of the stocks that management is holding now have no debt, according to Cardon. As for the other holdings, he says they may have some but only because they've made a big move recently like acquiring a new company, which forced them to take on some debt. Over the last 10 years, the fund has returned about 7.5 percent annualized as of January 2011, on average, which places it in the top 13 percent of its category. "We do better in down markets," Cardon says. He says his focus is on quality, so the fund may, at times, miss out on speculative rallies. "If you assume we're going to be in a period where there's going to be lower long-run economic growth and there's going to be no bubble formation, then that's a pretty compelling backdrop for investing in quality companies that do it the old-fashioned way where they have real growth opportunities that aren't just generated by Wall Street," he says.
Investment Strategy
The investment seeks long-term growth of capital; income is a secondary consideration. The fund invests primarily in small growth companies. It invests at least 80% of the fund's net assets in the equity securities of small companies with market capitalizations of less than $2.5 billion at the time of purchase. The fund may invest up to 20% of its total assets at the time of purchase in securities issued by foreign companies in developed or emerging markets. It may invest a large percentage of its assets in a few sectors, including information technology, industrials, consumer discretionary, health care, energy and financials.
Fees
Fees are Above Average compared to funds in the same category.
Wasatch Small Cap Growth Fund has an expense ratio of 1.24 percent.
Risk
Risk is Low compared to funds in the same category according to Morningstar.
