Is Brown Capital Management Small Company Investor (BCSIX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

If you have been looking for Mutual Fund Equity Report funds, it would not be wise to start your search with Brown Capital Management Small Company Investor (BCSIX - Free Report) . BCSIX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 5 (Strong Sell), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.History of Fund/ManagerBrown Capital Management is responsible for BCSIX, and the company is based out of Rocky Mount, NC. Brown Capital Management Small Company Investor debuted in July of 1992.

Since then, BCSIX has accumulated assets of about $937.75 million, according to the most recently available information. A team of investment professionals is the fund's current manager.PerformanceOf course, investors look for strong performance in funds. BCSIX has a 5-year annualized total return of 2.48% and is in the bottom third among its category peers.

Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of -4.33%, which places it in the bottom third during this time-frame.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. Compared to the category average of 21.67%, the standard deviation of BCSIX over the past three years is 25.34%.

Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 24.51% compared to the category average of 19.31%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.Risk FactorsThe fund has a 5-year beta of 1.05, 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.

BCSIX has generated a negative alpha over the past five years of -7.06, demonstrating that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.HoldingsExamining 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.Right now, 88.91% of this mutual fund's holdings are stocks, with an average market capitalization of $8.39 billion.

The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors: Technology Health Other Industrial Cyclical Turnover is 14%, which means, on average, the fund makes fewer trades than comparable funds.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, BCSIX is a no load fund.

It has an expense ratio of 1.25% compared to the category average of 1.19%. So, BCSIX 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 $5,000; each subsequent investment needs to be at least $500.Bottom LineOverall, Brown Capital Management Small Company Investor ( BCSIX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, worse downside risk, and higher fees, this fund looks like a somewhat weak choice for investors right now.Your research on the Mutual Fund Equity Report segment doesn't have to stop here. You can check out all the great mutual fund tools we have to offer by going to URL to see the additional features we offer as well for additional information.

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