Buy These 3 Small-Cap Blend Mutual Funds for Solid Returns

Investors with a high-risk appetite and an interest in growth and value investing may choose small-cap blend mutual funds to boost their portfolio. While blend funds, also known as "hybrid funds," aim for value appreciation through capital gains, small-cap funds have higher growth prospects than their large and medium counterparts. Blend funds provide significant exposure to growth and value stocks, and owe their origin to a graphical representation of a fund's equity style box.Funds investing the majority of their assets in securities of companies with a market capitalization below $2 billion are generally considered small-cap mutual funds. Although funds investing in small-cap stocks are believed to have more exposure to market volatility than large or medium ones, they are expected to provide diversification across sectors and companies. Moreover, small-cap companies are believed to be less affected by a global downturn, thanks to less international exposure.Below, we share with you three top-ranked small-cap blend mutual funds, namely FullerThaler Behavioral Small-Cap Equity Fund Investor Shares FTHNX, T. Rowe Price Integrated U.S. Small-Mid Cap Core Equity Fund TQSMX and Vanguard Explorer Value Fund VEVFX. Each has earned a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and is expected to outperform its peers in the future. Investors can click here to see the complete list of funds.FullerThaler Behavioral Small-Cap Equity Fund Investor Shares invests most of its net assets in common stocks of small-cap companies based in the United States. The fund has returned 12.6% over the past three years.As of June 2024, FTHNX held 121 issues, with 3.8% of its assets invested in Emcor Group.T. Rowe Price Integrated U.S. Small-Mid Cap Core Equity Fund invests most of its assets in common stocks of small and mid-cap companies. TQSMX advisors use the Russell 2500 index as a benchmark to select the companies to invest in. The fund has returned 9.9% over the past three years.TQSMX has an expense ratio of 0.87%.Vanguard Explorer Value Fund invests in small-cap domestic equity securities that it considers undervalued. VEVFX selects securities that have above-average dividend yields.The fund has returned 6.1% over the past three years.John W. Rogers has been one of the fund managers of VEVFX since January 2022.To view the Zacks Rank and the past performance of all small-cap blend mutual funds, investors can click here to see the complete list of small-cap blend mutual funds.Want key mutual fund info delivered straight to your inbox?Zacks’ free Fund Newsletter will brief you on top news and analysis, as well as top-performing mutual funds, each week. Get it free >>Research Chief Names "Single Best Pick to Double"From thousands of stocks, 5 Zacks experts each have chosen their favorite to skyrocket +100% or more in months to come. From those 5, Director of Research Sheraz Mian hand-picks one to have the most explosive upside of all.This company targets millennial and Gen Z audiences, generating nearly $1 billion in revenue last quarter alone. A recent pullback makes now an ideal time to jump aboard. Of course, all our elite picks aren’t winners but this one could far surpass earlier Zacks’ Stocks Set to Double like Nano-X Imaging which shot up +129.6% in little more than 9 months.Free: See Our Top Stock And 4 Runners UpView All Zacks #1 Ranked Mutual FundsWant the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Get Your Free (VEVFX): Fund Analysis Report Get Your Free (FTHNX): Fund Analysis Report Get Your Free (TQSMX): Fund Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks