Having trouble finding a Small Cap Blend fund? BlackRock Advantage Small Cap Core A (BDSAX) is a potential starting point. BDSAX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
BDSAX is one of many Small Cap Blend funds to choose from. Small Cap Blend mutual funds allow investors a way to diversify their funds among various types of small-cap stocks. These funds seek companies with market capitalization of less than $2 billion, and aid in reducing volatility inherent in lower market cap stocks.
History of Fund/Manager
BDSAX is a part of the BlackRock family of funds, a company based out of New York, NY. BlackRock Advantage Small Cap Core A made its debut in June of 2013, and since then, BDSAX has accumulated about $709.17 million in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. A team of investment professionals is the fund’s current manager.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 7.14%, and is in the middle 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 19.3%, which places it in the top 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. The standard deviation of BDSAX over the past three years is 18.5% compared to the category average of 12.86%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 20.15% compared to the category average of 14.49%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
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. Another factor to consider is alpha, as it reflects a portfolio’s performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark-in this case, the S&P 500. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a negative alpha of -6.1. This means that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.