Yahoo Finance Is Boston Partners Small Cap Value II Institutional (BPSIX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
Looking for a Small Cap Value fund? You may want to consider Boston Partners Small Cap Value II Institutional (BPSIX) as a possible option. BPSIX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
BPSIX is one of many Small Cap Value funds to choose from. Small Cap Value mutual funds typically invest in companies with market caps under $2 billion. These funds represent value because they offer more bang for an owner's buck, often demonstrated by lower P/E Ratios, high dividend yields, and better-than-average price-to-sales ratios.
History of Fund/Manager
Robeco is based in New York, NY, and is the manager of BPSIX. Boston Partners Small Cap Value II Institutional made its debut in July of 1998, and since then, BPSIX has accumulated about $479.33 million in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund's current manager, David M. Dabora, has been in charge of the fund since December of 1998.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 6.03%, 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 5.73%, which places it in the middle 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. The standard deviation of BPSIX over the past three years is 15.62% compared to the category average of 13.56%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 15.78% compared to the category average of 12.92%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
Investors should always remember the downsides to a potential investment, and this segment carries some risks one should be aware of. In BPSIX's case, the fund lost 51.46% in the most recent bear market and outperformed its peer group by 0%. This might suggest that the fund is an on par choice than its peers during a bear market.
Investors should note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 1.09, so it is likely going to be 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. BPSIX has generated a negative alpha over the past five years of -4.82, demonstrating that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
Holdings
Investigating 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.
The mutual fund currently has 96.59% of its holdings in stocks, which have an average market capitalization of $2.91 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
Finance
Industrial Cyclical
Other
Retail Trade
Turnover is 29%, which means, on average, the fund makes fewer trades than comparable funds.
Expenses
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, BPSIX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.10% compared to the category average of 1.29%. BPSIX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.
Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $100,000 and that each subsequent investment needs to be at $5,000.
Bottom Line
Overall, Boston Partners Small Cap Value II Institutional ( BPSIX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a somewhat average choice for investors right now.
This could just be the start of your research on BPSIXin the Small Cap Value category. Consider going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for additional information about this fund, and all the others that we rank as well for additional information. Want to learn even more? We have a full suite of tools on stocks that you can use to find the best choices for your portfolio too, no matter what kind of investor you are.
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