Fund Evaluator:

MassMutual Small Cap Gr Eq I Overview

MassMutual Small Cap Gr Eq I (MSGZX) is an actively managed U.S. Equity Small Growth fund. MassMutual launched the fund in 2010.

The investment seeks long-term capital appreciation. The fund normally invests at least 80% of its net assets (plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes) in the equity securities of companies whose market capitalizations at the time of purchase are within the market capitalization range of companies included in the Russell 2000® Index or the S&P SmallCap 600 Index. While most assets typically will be invested in common stocks of U.S. companies, the fund also may invest up to 20% of its total assets in foreign securities, including emerging market securities.

About MassMutual Small Cap Gr Eq I (MSGZX)

There are 5 members of the management team with an average tenure of 10.26 years: Asutosh (Ash) Shah (2015), Ranjit Ramachandran (2022), Justin Livengood (2026), Ronald Zibelli (2015), Daniel Fitzpatrick (2001). 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 Growth TR USD index with a weighting of 100%. MassMutual Small Cap Gr Eq I has 254 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 13.0% 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.

MassMutual Small Cap Gr Eq I is part of the Equity global asset class and is within the U.S. Equity fund group. MassMutual Small Cap Gr Eq I has 4.9% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 92.2%. There is 4.9% 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). MassMutual Small Cap Gr Eq I has 3.0% of the portfolio in cash.

Assets Under Management

The fund has $518 million in total assets, which is above the $454 million average for the Small Growth 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.

MSGZX 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 MassMutual Small Cap Gr Eq I expense ratio is high compared to funds in the Small Growth category. MassMutual Small Cap Gr Eq I has an expense ratio of 0.88%, which is 25% lower than its category average, making the fund expense ratio grade a A. 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. MassMutual Small Cap Gr Eq I has a portfolio turnover rate of 76%, indicating that holds its assets around 0.0 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 76% for the Small Growth category.

Recently, in the month of June 2026, MassMutual Small Cap Gr Eq I returned 7.1%, which earned it a grade of C, as the Small Growth category had an average return of 6.5%. 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.

MassMutual Small Cap Gr Eq I has a trailing yield of 0.00%, which is below the 0.07% 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.

MassMutual Small Cap Gr Eq I Grades

Year to date, the fund has returned 29.8%, 7.7 percentage points better than the category, which translates into a grade of A. The fund has returned 45.3% over the past year (grade of A), 20.7% over the past three years (grade of B) and 8.1% per year over the past five years (grade of A) and 14.9% per year over the past 10 years (grade of A).

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