Fund Evaluator:

William Blair Small Cap Growth R6 Overview

William Blair Small Cap Growth R6 (WBSRX) is an actively managed U.S. Equity Small Growth fund. William Blair launched the fund in 2019.

The investment seeks long-term capital appreciation. The fund normally invests at least 80% of its net assets in stocks of small capitalized ("small cap") companies. It invests primarily in a diversified portfolio of equity securities, including common stocks and other forms of equity investments, of small cap U.S. growth companies that are expected to exhibit quality growth characteristics. For purposes of the fund, the advisor considers a company to be a small cap company if it has a market capitalization no larger than the largest capitalized company included in the Russell 2000® Index at the time of the fund's investment.

About William Blair Small Cap Growth R6 (WBSRX)

There are 2 members of the management team with an average tenure of 7.94 years: Mark Thompson (2020), Ward Sexton (2016). 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%. William Blair Small Cap Growth R6 has 91 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 18.4% 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.

William Blair Small Cap Growth R6 is part of the Equity global asset class and is within the U.S. Equity fund group. William Blair Small Cap Growth R6 has 4.2% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 93.8%. There is 4.2% 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). William Blair Small Cap Growth R6 has 2.0% of the portfolio in cash.

Assets Under Management

The fund has $479 million 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.

WBSRX 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 William Blair Small Cap Growth R6 expense ratio is high compared to funds in the Small Growth category. William Blair Small Cap Growth R6 has an expense ratio of 0.94%, which is 20% 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. William Blair Small Cap Growth R6 has a portfolio turnover rate of 94%, indicating that holds its assets around 0.0 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 78% for the Small Growth category.

Recently, in the month of July 2026, William Blair Small Cap Growth R6 returned -5.1%, which earned it a grade of B, 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.

William Blair Small Cap Growth R6 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.

William Blair Small Cap Growth R6 Grades

Year to date, the fund has returned 16.0%, 2.4 percentage points better than the category, which translates into a grade of B. The fund has returned 25.6% over the past year (grade of C), 13.1% over the past three years (grade of B) and 5.9% per year over the past five years (grade of B) and 12.9% per year over the past 10 years (grade of B).

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