Is BlackRock Advantage Small Cap Core A (BDSAX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

Having trouble finding a Small Cap Blend fund? BlackRock Advantage Small Cap Core A (BDSAX) is a potential starting point. BDSAX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.ObjectiveZacks categorizes BDSAX as Small Cap Blend, which is an area packed with options. Usually targeting stocks with market caps of less than $2 billion, a Small Cap Blend mutual fund lets investors diversify their funds among other kinds of small-cap equities. This can help reduce risk found in companies that have a lower stock market valuation.History of Fund/ManagerBDSAX is a part of the BlackRock family of funds, a company based out of New York, NY. The BlackRock Advantage Small Cap Core A made its debut in June of 2013 and BDSAX has managed to accumulate roughly $780.60 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund's current manager is a team of investment professionals.PerformanceOf course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 11.34%, and it sits in the bottom third among its category peers. But if you are looking for a shorter time frame, it is also worth looking at its 3-year annualized total return of 15.36%, 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. Over the past three years, BDSAX's standard deviation comes in at 20.8%, compared to the category average of 13.85%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 21.53% compared to the category average of 15.01%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.Risk FactorsWith a 5-year beta of 1.12, the fund is likely to be more volatile than the market average. 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. The fund has produced a negative alpha over the past 5 years of -5.06, which shows that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.HoldingsInvestigating 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 mostly on equities that are traded in the United States.As of the last filing date, the mutual fund has 79.07% of its assets in stocks, which have an average market capitalization of $4.64 billion.This fund's turnover is about 88%, so the fund managers are making more trades in a given year than the category average.ExpensesCosts 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, BDSAX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.75% compared to the category average of 0.96%. BDSAX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $1,000; each subsequent investment needs to be at least $50.Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into consideration. Returns would be less if those were included.Bottom LineOverall, even with its comparatively weak performance, worse downside risk, and lower fees, BlackRock Advantage Small Cap Core A ( BDSAX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and therefore looks a great potential choice for investors right now.For additional information on the Small Cap Blend area of the mutual fund world, make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds. There, you can see more about the ranking process, and dive even deeper into BDSAX too for additional information. 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Click to get this free report Get Your Free (BDSAX): Fund Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks