Best And Worst Q4’15: Small Cap Growth ETFs, Mutual Funds And Key Holdings

By | December 1, 2015

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Summary The Small Cap Growth style ranks eleventh in Q4’15. Based on an aggregation of ratings of 11 ETFs and 427 mutual funds. SLYG is our top-rated Small Cap Growth style ETF and VSCRX is our top-rated Small Cap Growth style mutual fund. The Small Cap Growth style ranks eleventh out of the twelve fund styles as detailed in our Q4’15 Style Ratings for ETFs and Mutual Funds report. Last quarter , the Small Cap Growth style ranked eleventh as well. It gets our Dangerous rating, which is based on an aggregation of ratings of 11 ETFs and 427 mutual funds in the Small Cap Growth style. See a recap of our Q3’15 Style Ratings here. Figure 1 ranks from best to worst the nine small-cap growth ETFs that meet our liquidity standards and Figure 2 shows the five best and worst-rated small-cap growth mutual funds. Not all Small Cap Growth style ETFs and mutual funds are created the same. The number of holdings varies widely (from 29 to 1186). This variation creates drastically different investment implications and, therefore, ratings. Investors seeking exposure to the Small Cap Growth style should buy one of the Attractive-or-better rated mutual funds from Figure 2. Figure 1: ETFs with the Best & Worst Ratings – Top 5 (click to enlarge) * Best ETFs exclude ETFs with TNAs less than $100 million for inadequate liquidity. Sources: New Constructs, LLC and company filings The Vanguard S&P Small-Cap 600 Growth ETF (NYSEARCA: VIOG ) and the PowerShares Russell 2000 PureGrowth Portfolio ETF (NYSEARCA: PXSG ) are excluded from Figure 1 because their total net assets are below $100 million and do not meet our liquidity minimums. Figure 2: Mutual Funds with the Best & Worst Ratings – Top 5 (click to enlarge) * Best mutual funds exclude funds with TNAs less than $100 million for inadequate liquidity. Sources: New Constructs, LLC and company filings The Managed Porftolio Smith Group Small Cap Focused Growth (SGSNX, SGSVX) and the American Beacon Bahl & Gaynor Small Cap Growth (GBSIX, GBSYX) are excluded from Figure 2 because their total net assets are below $100 million and do not meet our liquidity minimums. The State Street SPDR S&P 600 Small Cap Growth ETF (NYSEARCA: SLYG ) is the top-rated Small Cap Growth ETF and the Virtus Small-Cap Core Fund (MUTF: VSCRX ) is the top-rated Small Cap Growth mutual fund. SLYG earns our Neutral rating and VSCRX earns our Very Attractive rating. The First Trust Small Cap Growth AlphaDEX ETF (NYSEARCA: FYC ) is the worst-rated Small Cap Growth ETF and the Dreyfus Managers Small Cap Growth Fund (MUTF: DSGAX ) is the worst-rated Small Cap Growth mutual fund. FYC earns a Dangerous rating while DSGAX earns a Very Dangerous rating. Hawaiian Holdings (NASDAQ: HA ) is one of our favorite stocks held by Small Cap Growth ETFs and mutual funds and earns our Attractive rating. Since 2010, Hawaiian Holdings has grown after-tax profits ( NOPAT ) by 11% compounded annually. The company’s current 12% return on invested capital ( ROIC ) is a great improvement over the 7% earned in 2013 and points to the business becoming more profitable. Despite the improving fundamentals, HA remains undervalued. At its current price of $36/share, Hawaiian Holdings has a price to economic book value ( PEBV ) ratio of 1.0. This ratio means that the market expects Hawaiian’s NOPAT to never meaningfully grow from current levels. If Hawaiian Holdings can grow NOPAT by just 9% compounded annually over the next decade , the stock is worth $46/share today – a 27% upside. Scholastic Corporation (NASDAQ: SCHL ) is one of our least favorite stocks held by Small Cap Growth funds and earns our Very Dangerous rating. Since 2011, Scholastic’s NOPAT has declined by 8% compounded annually. The company’s ROIC has followed suit from 5% in 2011 to its current bottom quintile 1% in 2015. Despite the deteriorating operations of the business, shares are still priced for significant growth. To justify its current price of $42/share, Scholastic must grow NOPAT by 6% compounded annually for the next 15 years . This expectation seems unlikely to be met considering Scholastic’s inability to grow NOPAT over the past five years. Figures 3 and 4 show the rating landscape of all Small Cap Growth ETFs and mutual funds. Figure 3: Separating the Best ETFs From the Worst ETFs (click to enlarge) Sources: New Constructs, LLC and company filings Figure 4: Separating the Best Mutual Funds From the Worst Funds (click to enlarge) Sources: New Constructs, LLC and company filings D isclosure: David Trainer and Thaxston McKee receive no compensation to write about any specific stock, style, or theme. Scalper1 News

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