Fund Evaluator:

Needham Aggressive Growth Institutional Overview

Needham Aggressive Growth Institutional (NEAIX) is an actively managed U.S. Equity Small Growth fund. Needham launched the fund in 2016.

The investment seeks long-term, tax-efficient capital appreciation. Under normal conditions, the fund invests at least 65% of its total assets in the equity securities (principally, common stock) of domestic issuers listed on a nationally recognized securities exchange. It invests principally in markets and industries with strong growth potential, focusing primarily on the market leaders in these areas as these companies often garner a disproportionate share of the positive financial returns.

About Needham Aggressive Growth Institutional (NEAIX)

There are 1 members of the management team with an average tenure of 16.59 years: John Barr (2010). Management tenure is more important for actively managed funds than passive index funds.

The fund has 2 primary benchmarks: Bloomberg US 3000 TR USD index with a weighting of 100% and Bloomberg US 2000 Growth TR USD index with a weighting of 100%. Needham Aggressive Growth Institutional has 113 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.

Needham Aggressive Growth Institutional is part of the Equity global asset class and is within the U.S. Equity fund group. Needham Aggressive Growth Institutional has 7.8% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 87.5%. There is 7.8% 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). Needham Aggressive Growth Institutional has 4.6% of the portfolio in cash.

Assets Under Management

The fund has $1 billion in total assets, which is above the $431 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.

NEAIX 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 Needham Aggressive Growth Institutional expense ratio is high compared to funds in the Small Growth category. Needham Aggressive Growth Institutional has an expense ratio of 1.19%, which is 1% higher than its category average, making the fund expense ratio grade a C. 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. Needham Aggressive Growth Institutional has a portfolio turnover rate of 16%, indicating that holds its assets around 0.1 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 78% for the Small Growth category.

Recently, in the month of July 2026, Needham Aggressive Growth Institutional returned -19.7%, which earned it a grade of F, as the Small Growth category had an average return of -6.7%. 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.

Needham Aggressive Growth Institutional has a trailing yield of 0.00%, which is below the 0.06% category average. The fund normally distributes its income 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.

Needham Aggressive Growth Institutional Grades

Year to date, the fund has returned 33.5%, 19.9 percentage points better than the category, which translates into a grade of A. The fund has returned 48.4% over the past year (grade of A), 25.4% over the past three years (grade of A) and 18.0% per year over the past five years (grade of A) and 20.5% per year over the past 10 years (grade of A).

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