Grab These 3 Small-Cap Blend Mutual Funds for Excellent 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 12.8% over the past three years.As of September 2024, FTHNX held 123 issues, with 2.9% 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 11.3% 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 6.9% 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 >>7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 DaysJust released: Experts distill 7 elite stocks from the current list of 220 Zacks Rank #1 Strong Buys. They deem these tickers "Most Likely for Early Price Pops."Since 1988, the full list has beaten the market more than 2X over with an average gain of +24.3% per year. So be sure to give these hand picked 7 your immediate attention. See them now >>View 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 ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks