Fund Evaluator:
GuideStone Funds Small Cap Equity Instl (GSCYX)Best Performing in Small Blend Over the Last Year
| 67.2% | Royce Micro-Cap Invmt (RYOTX) |
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| 48.4% | North Star Small Cap Value Investor (WSCVX) |
| 46.5% | Paradigm Value (PVFAX) |
| 46.0% | Nuveen Quant Small Cap Equity I (TSCHX) |
Fund Details
GuideStone Funds Small Cap Equity Instl Overview
GuideStone Funds Small Cap Equity Instl (GSCYX) is an actively managed U.S. Equity Small Blend fund. GuideStone Funds launched the fund in 2001.
The investment seeks to provide long-term capital appreciation. The fund invests mainly (at least, and typically more than, 80% of its net assets, plus borrowings for investment purposes, if any) in equity securities, which may include stock, stock futures, rights, warrants or securities convertible into stock, of U.S. companies that, at the time of purchase, are in the small capitalization segment of the U.S. equity market, generally consistent with the capitalization range of companies comprising the Russell 2000® Index.
About GuideStone Funds Small Cap Equity Instl (GSCYX)
There are 16 members of the management team with an average tenure of 4.41 years: Grant Babyak (2002), Bruce Jacobs (2018), Kenneth Levy (2018), Jeffrey James (2025), Peter Algert (2026), Gordon Wotherspoon (2025), Jeff John (2020), Michael Buck (2025), Prakash Vijayan (2025), Ryan LaFond (2026), Brandon Pizzurro (2019), Jennifer Mihara (2024), Ryan Cope (2020), Joshua Chastant (2024), David Ferreiro (2024), Greg J. Vasse (2025). Management tenure is more important for actively managed funds than passive index funds.
The fund has 2 primary benchmarks: Russell 3000 TR USD index with a weighting of 100% and Russell 2000 TR USD index with a weighting of 100%. GuideStone Funds Small Cap Equity Instl has 831 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 43.9% of the fund’s assets. The fund meets the SEC requirement of being classified as a diversified fund. The fund is not considered to have an ESG focus with its investment selection and management.
GuideStone Funds Small Cap Equity Instl is part of the Equity global asset class and is within the U.S. Equity fund group. GuideStone Funds Small Cap Equity Instl has 4.1% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 92.5%. There is 4.1% allocated to foreign stock, and 0.0% is allocated to preferred stocks. The bond allocation as a percentage of total assets is 0.0% (0.0% domestic bond, 0.0% foreign bond and 0.0% convertible bond). GuideStone Funds Small Cap Equity Instl has 3.4% of the portfolio in cash.
Assets Under Management
The fund has $743 million in total assets, which is above the $694 million average for the Small Blend category. Normally, lower assets under management translates to higher average expense ratios, and greater total assets are desired. However, for some investment categories, such as small-cap investing, it may be difficult for the manager to fully employ the desired active strategy if assets grow too large or too quickly.
GSCYX Performance and Fees
The expense ratio measures how much of a fund’s assets are used for administrative expenses and operating expenses, including adviser fees and fees for the transfer agent and custodial services. The GuideStone Funds Small Cap Equity Instl expense ratio is high compared to funds in the Small Blend category. GuideStone Funds Small Cap Equity Instl has an expense ratio of 0.90%, which is 14% lower than its category average, making the fund expense ratio grade a B. While it is difficult to predict returns, it is known that high annual expense ratios reduce your rate of return, and excessive fees are difficult to overcome. Active management normally comes with higher expense ratios than passive index management. Certain investment categories such as small company and foreign also normally have higher expense ratios. It is best to compare fund expense ratios against the category averages for meaningful assessments.
High portfolio turnover can translate to higher expenses and lower aftertax returns. GuideStone Funds Small Cap Equity Instl has a portfolio turnover rate of 88%, indicating that holds its assets around 0.0 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 65% for the Small Blend category.
Recently, in the month of June 2026, GuideStone Funds Small Cap Equity Instl returned 4.9%, which earned it a grade of D, as the Small Blend category had an average return of 5.9%. The letter grades of A, B, C, D and F are based upon relative rankings within the investment category. A grade of A, for example, would indicate that the return is in the highest 20% for that time period compared to all funds in that category.
GuideStone Funds Small Cap Equity Instl has a trailing yield of 0.40%, which is below the 0.41% category average. The fund normally distributes its income annually and its capital gains annually.
It’s natural to seek the best-performing investments, but you must consider the relationship between risk and return and the impact of costs and taxes on your realized returns.
GuideStone Funds Small Cap Equity Instl Grades
Year to date, the fund has returned 19.7%, 2.0 percentage points worse than the category, which translates into a grade of D. The fund has returned 30.9% over the past year (grade of D), 14.7% over the past three years (grade of D) and 6.4% per year over the past five years (grade of D) and 10.9% per year over the past 10 years (grade of C).
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GSCYX Trailing NAV Total Returns Data as of 6/30/26
| Last Month |
Last Quarter |
Ann'l. 1Yr |
Ann'l. 3Yr |
Ann'l. 5Yr |
Ann'l. 10Yr |
|
| GSCYX Return (NAV) | 4.9% | 20.2% | 30.9% | 14.7% | 6.4% | 10.9% |
| GSCYX Grade | D | C | D | D | D | C |
| +/- Category | -1.0% | 0.5% | -3.0% | -1.6% | -1.5% | -0.3% |
| Small Blend Avg | 5.9% | 19.8% | 33.9% | 16.4% | 7.9% | 11.2% |
| GSCYX Tax Cost Ratio | na | na | 2.9% | 1.7% | 2.2% | 2.0% |
GSCYX Annual NAV Total ReturnsData as of 6/30/26
| 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | |
| GSCYX Return (NAV) | 19.7% | 6.1% | 10.6% | 14.9% | -17.8% | 22.1% | 20.1% | 25.3% | -12.0% | 13.0% | 17.5% |
| GSCYX Grade | D | D | C | D | D | C | A | C | C | C | D |
| +/- Category | -2.0% | -1.9% | -1.0% | -1.6% | -1.3% | -1.1% | 5.7% | -0.2% | -0.2% | -1.1% | -2.7% |
| Small Blend Avg | 21.7% | 7.9% | 11.6% | 16.5% | -16.5% | 23.2% | 14.4% | 25.5% | -11.8% | 14.1% | 20.2% |
| Risk Measures | |
| Standard Deviation: | 18.6% |
| Total Risk Index: | 1.53 - High |
| Category Risk Index: | 1.01 - Average |
| Category Risk Grade: | C (49% Rank) |
| Beta: | 1.16 |
| R-Squared: | 66% |
| Leveraged Fund: | No |
| Inverse Fund: | No |
| Portfolio Characteristics | |
| Equity Investment Style: | Small-Cap Blend |
| Bond Investment Style: | na |
| Yield: | 0.4% |
| Dividend Distribution: | Annually |
| Cap Gains Distribution: | Annually |
| Total Assets: | $1047 Mil |
| Fund Total Assets: | $ 743 Mil |
| Share Class Type: | Inst |
| Portfolio Turnover: | 88% |
Management Team
| Number of Managers: 16 | |||
| Longest Tenure: 23.9 years | |||
| Average Tenure: 4.4 years | |||
| Managers (Year): Babyak Grant (2002), Jacobs Bruce (2018), Levy Kenneth (2018), Pizzurro Brandon (2019), Cope Ryan (2020), John Jeff (2020), Chastant Joshua (2024), Ferreiro David (2024), Mihara Jennifer (2024), Buck Michael (2025), Vijayan Prakash (2025), James Jeffrey (2025), Wotherspoon Gordon (2025), Vasse Greg J. (2025), Algert Peter (2026), LaFond Ryan (2026) | |||
Portfolio Composition (as of 5/31/26)
| # of Holdings: | 831 |
| % in Top 10 Holdings: | 43.9% |
| Fund is Non-Diversified: | No |
| % in Foreign Issues: | 4.1% |
Portfolio Allocation |
|
| Domestic Stock: | 92.5% |
| Foreign Stock: | 4.1% |
| Preferred Stock: | 0.0% |
| Domestic Bond: | 0.0% |
| Foreign Bond: | 0.0% |
| Convertible Bond: | 0.0% |
| Other: | 0.0% |
| Cash: | 3.4% |
Purchase Information
| Fund Family: | GuideStone Funds |
| Phone Number: | 888-473-8637 |
| Website: | www.guidestonefunds.org |
| Status: | Open |
| Inception Date: | August 27, 2001 |
| Min. Initial Purchase: | $1,000,000 |
| Min. Initial IRA Purchase: | $ 0 |
| True No-Load: | Yes |
| Front Load Maximum: | 0.00% |
| Deferred Charge Maximum: | 0.00% |
| Redemption Charge Maximum: | 0.00% |
| 12b-1 Fee: | na |
Expenses and Fees | |
| Expense Ratio (%): | 0.90% ( Rating : High ) |
| Category Average Expense Ratio (%): | 1.05% |
| Share Class: | GuideStone Funds Small Cap Equity Instl |
| Min. Subsequent Purchase: | $ 0 |
| Min. Subsequent IRA Purchase: | $ 0 |