3 Small-Cap Growth Mutual Funds for Stellar Returns

Small-cap growth funds are natural choices for investors with a high-risk appetite when capital appreciation over the long term takes precedence over dividend payouts. These funds focus on realizing an appreciable amount of capital growth by investing in stocks that are projected to rise in value over the long term.

Meanwhile, small-cap funds are good choices for investors seeking diversification across different sectors and companies. These generally invest in companies having a market cap lower than $2 billion. The companies, smaller in size, offer growth potential, and their market capitalization may increase subsequently. Also, due to their lower international exposure, small-cap funds offer higher protection than their large- and mid-cap counterparts against any global downturn.

Below we share with you three top-ranked small-cap growth mutual funds, namely AMG GW&K Small/Mid Cap Fund Class I GWGIX, Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Fund FSCFX and Invesco Discovery Fund Class A OPOCX. 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.

AMG GW&K Small/Mid Cap Fund Class I seeks to provide investors long-term capital appreciation. GWGIX invests the majority of its net assets, plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes, in equity securities of small-cap and mid-cap companies. It primarily invests in common stock and preferred stock.

AMG GW&K Small/Mid Cap Fund Class I has a three-year annualized return of 17.5%. As of December 2021, GWGIX held 81 issues, with 3.87% of its assets invested in Total Other.

Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Fund invests the majority of its assets in securities of small and mid-cap companies similar to companies on the Russell 2500 Index and in shares of other small and mid-cap funds. FSCFX invests in either "growth" stocks or "value" stocks or both.

Strategic Advisers Small-Mid Cap Fund has a three-year annualized return of 14.2%. FSCFX has an expense ratio of 0.43% compared with the category average of 1.03%.

Invesco Discovery Fund Class A aims for capital growth. OPOCX invests the majority of its assets in common stocks of American companies with high growth potential. It mostly focuses on stocks of small-cap companies.

Invesco Discovery Fund Class A has a three-year annualized return of 18.7%. Ronald J. Zibelli Jr. has been one of the fund managers of OPOCX since 2006.

To view the Zacks Rank and the past performance of all small-cap growth mutual funds, investors can click here to see the complete list of small-cap growth mutual funds.

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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.