Risk-loving investors, who give precedence to capital appreciation along with dividend payouts, may consider small-cap blend mutual funds to derive healthy returns. These funds focus on realizing an appreciable amount of capital growth by investing in stocks that are projected to rise over the long term.
Meanwhile, small-cap funds are good choices for investors seeking diversification across different sectors and companies. Small-cap funds generally invest in companies having a market cap lower than $2 billion.
The companies, smaller in size, offer growth potential, and their market capitalization may increase subsequently. Also, due to their lower international exposure, small-cap funds offer higher protection than their large and mid-cap counterparts in any global downturn.
Below, we share with you three top-ranked, small-cap growth mutual funds, namely Goldman Sachs Small Cap Eq Insghts (GCSCX – Free Report) , Vanguard Strategic Small-Cap Equity Inv (VSTCX – Free Report) and Keeley Small Cap Fund (WESCX – Free Report) . Each has earned a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank #1(Strong Buy) and is expected to outperform its peers in the future. Investors can click here to see the complete list of small-cap blend funds.
Goldman Sachs Small Cap Eq Insghts fund seeks long-term growth of capital. GCSCX invests its net assets in a broadly diversified portfolio of equity investments in small-capital U.S. issuers, including foreign issuers that are traded in the United States.
Goldman Sachs Small Cap Eq Insghts fund has three-year annualized returns of 21.7%. As of the end of January 2026, GCSCX had 527 issues and invested 1% of its net assets in Bloom Energy Corp.
Vanguard Strategic Small-Cap Equity Inv fund invests in small-capitalization domestic equity securities based on the advisor’s assessment of their relative return potential.
Vanguard Strategic Small-Cap Equity Inv fund has three-year annualized returns of 23.2%. VSTCX has an expense ratio of 0.21%
Keeley Small Cap Fund invests most of its net assets, including any borrowings for investment purposes, in common stocks of smaller companies.
Keeley Small Cap Fund has three-year annualized returns of 25.7%. Joseph Gabelli has been one of the fund managers of WESCX since the end of May 2025.
To view the Zacks Rank and the past performance of all small-cap blend mutual funds, investors canclick here to see the complete list of small-cap blend mutual funds.
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