Any investors hoping to find a Small Cap Growth fund could think about starting with Macquarie Small Cap Growth Y (WSCYX). WSCYX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

WSCYX 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.

Macquarie is based in Philadelphia, PA, and is the manager of WSCYX. The Macquarie Small Cap Growth Y made its debut in December of 1995 and WSCYX has managed to accumulate roughly $30.01 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund's current manager is a team of investment professionals.

Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 6.91%, 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 10.49%, which places it in the middle 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. WSCYX's standard deviation over the past three years is 21.58% compared to the category average of 15.2%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 21.3% compared to the category average of 14.76%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

The fund has a 5-year beta of 1.11, so investors should note that it is hypothetically more volatile than the market at large. Alpha is an additional metric to take into consideration, since it represents a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which in this case, is the S&P 500. With a negative alpha of -8.93, managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

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 largely on equities that are traded in the United States.

This fund is currently holding about 85.11% in stocks, which have an average market capitalization of $5.11 billion.

With turnover at about 76%, this fund is making fewer trades than comparable funds.

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, WSCYX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.14% compared to the category average of 0.98%. So, WSCYX is actually more expensive than its peers from a cost perspective.

Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $0; each subsequent investment has no minimum amount.

Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into consideration. Returns would be less if those were included.

Overall, even with its comparatively weak performance, worse downside risk, and higher fees, Macquarie Small Cap Growth Y ( WSCYX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and therefore looks a somewhat average choice for investors right now.

Your research on the Small Cap Growth segment doesn't have to stop here. You can check out all the great mutual fund tools we have to offer by going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds to see the additional features we offer as well 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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