Is Eaton Vance Atlanta Cap SMID-Cap A (EAASX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
Having trouble finding a Mutual Fund Equity Report fund? Eaton Vance Atlanta Cap SMID-Cap A (EAASX) is a possible starting point. EAASX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
History of Fund/Manager
Eaton Vance is responsible for EAASX, and the company is based out of Boston, MA. Eaton Vance Atlanta Cap SMID-Cap A made its debut in June of 2005, and since then, EAASX has accumulated about $974.07 million in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund is currently managed by a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 9.82%, and is in the top 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 7.92%, which places it in the top 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. Over the past three years, EAASX's standard deviation comes in at 22.88%, compared to the category average of 18.36%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 20.15% compared to the category average of 16.14%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
Investors should not forget about beta, an important way to measure a mutual fund's risk compared to the market as a whole. EAASX has a 5-year beta of 1.03, which means it is likely to be as volatile as the market average. 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. EAASX has generated a negative alpha over the past five years of -0.49, 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 primarily on equities that are traded in the United States.
The mutual fund currently has 95.49% of its holdings in stocks, which have an average market capitalization of $10.31 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
Industrial Cyclical
Finance
Technology
Turnover is about 8%, so those in charge of the fund make fewer trades than the average comparable fund.
Expenses
As competition heats up in the mutual fund market, costs become increasingly important. Compared to its otherwise identical counterpart, a low-cost product will be an outperformer, all other things being equal. Thus, taking a closer look at cost-related metrics is vital for investors. In terms of fees, EAASX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.13% compared to the category average of 1.14%. So, EAASX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.
Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $1,000; each subsequent investment has no minimum amount.
Bottom Line
Overall, Eaton Vance Atlanta Cap SMID-Cap A ( EAASX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Eaton Vance Atlanta Cap SMID-Cap A ( EAASX ) looks like a somewhat average choice for investors right now.
This could just be the start of your research on EAASXin the Mutual Fund Equity Report 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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