Having trouble finding a Mutual Fund Equity Report fund? MassMutual Select Small Cap Growth Equity R5 (MSGSX Quick QuoteMSGSX - Free Report) is a potential starting point. MSGSX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

History of Fund/Manager

MassMutual is based in Springfield, MA, and is the manager of MSGSX. MassMutual Select Small Cap Growth Equity R5 debuted in May of 1999. Since then, MSGSX has accumulated assets of about $94.17 million, according to the most recently available information. The fund's current manager is a team of investment professionals.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. MSGSX has a 5-year annualized total return of 11.19% and it sits 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 8.35%, 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. Compared to the category average of 17.17%, the standard deviation of MSGSX over the past three years is 24.58%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 22.54% compared to the category average of 15.31%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

The fund has a 5-year beta of 1.14, 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. MSGSX's 5-year performance has produced a negative alpha of -1.19, which means 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 principally on equities that are traded in the United States.

As of the last filing date, the mutual fund has 97.89% of its assets in stocks, and these companies have an average market capitalization of $4.22 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:

1. Technology
2. Industrial Cyclical
3. Finance
4. Health

Turnover is 68%, which means, on average, the fund makes more traders than comparable funds in a given year.

Expenses

For investors, taking a closer look at cost-related metrics is key, since costs are increasingly important for mutual fund investing. Competition is heating up in this space, and a lower cost product will likely outperform its otherwise identical counterpart, all things being equal. In terms of fees, MSGSX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.96% compared to the category average of 1.20%. MSGSX is actually cheaper than its peers when you consider factors like cost.

While the minimum initial investment for the product is $0, investors should also note that there is no minimum for each subsequent investment.

Bottom Line

Overall, MassMutual Select Small Cap Growth Equity R5 ( MSGSX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, worse downside risk, and lower fees, MassMutual Select Small Cap Growth Equity R5 ( MSGSX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.

This could just be the start of your research on MSGSXin 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. Zacks provides a full suite of tools to help you analyze your portfolio - both funds and stocks - in the most efficient way possible.