Fund Evaluator:

Wasatch Small Cap Growth Investor Overview

Wasatch Small Cap Growth Investor (WAAEX) is an actively managed U.S. Equity Small Growth fund. Wasatch launched the fund in 1986.

The investment seeks long-term growth of capital; income is a secondary objective. The fund invests primarily in small growth companies. It will invest at least 80% of the fund's net assets (plus borrowings for investment purposes) in the equity securities, typically common stock, of small-capitalization companies. The fund may invest up to 20% of its total assets at the time of purchase in securities issued by foreign companies (companies that are incorporated in any country outside the United States and whose securities principally trade outside the United States).

About Wasatch Small Cap Growth Investor (WAAEX)

There are 3 members of the management team with an average tenure of 6.36 years: Natalie Pesque (2025), Ryan Snow (2017), Kenneth Korngiebel (2017). 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%. Wasatch Small Cap Growth Investor has 44 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 37.7% 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.

Wasatch Small Cap Growth Investor is part of the Equity global asset class and is within the U.S. Equity fund group. Wasatch Small Cap Growth Investor has 6.5% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 92.8%. There is 6.5% 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). Wasatch Small Cap Growth Investor has 0.7% of the portfolio in cash.

Assets Under Management

The fund has $540 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.

WAAEX 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 Wasatch Small Cap Growth Investor expense ratio is high compared to funds in the Small Growth category. Wasatch Small Cap Growth Investor has an expense ratio of 1.14%, which is 3% lower 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. Wasatch Small Cap Growth Investor has a portfolio turnover rate of 39%, 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, Wasatch Small Cap Growth Investor returned 6.6%, 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.

Wasatch Small Cap Growth Investor 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.

Wasatch Small Cap Growth Investor Grades

Year to date, the fund has returned 4.3%, 17.8 percentage points worse than the category, which translates into a grade of F. The fund has returned -1.7% over the past year (grade of F), 5.3% over the past three years (grade of F) and -4.9% per year over the past five years (grade of F) and 9.8% per year over the past 10 years (grade of F).

For more mutual fund grades, analysis and screening tools to help your investment discovery, join AAII for a $2, full-access trial. Learn more here: https://invest.aaii.com/membership.

Otherwise, for more information about Wasatch Small Cap Growth Investor, including its riskiness, submit your email to unlock the rest of the article.