On the lookout for a Small Cap Growth fund? Starting with BlackRock Small Cap Growth Equity A (CSGEX) is one possibility. CSGEX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.ObjectiveCSGEX is part of the Small Cap Growth category, and this segment boasts an array of many other possible options. Small Cap Growth mutual funds usually focus their portfolios on stocks with large growth opportunities and a market cap of under $2 billion. These portfolios tend to feature small companies in up-and-coming industries and markets.History of Fund/ManagerCSGEX is a part of the BlackRock family of funds, a company based out of New York, NY. BlackRock Small Cap Growth Equity A debuted in September of 1993. Since then, CSGEX has accumulated assets of about $229.35 million, according to the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by a team of investment professionals.PerformanceObviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 19.03%, and is in the middle third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 19.61%, which places it in the middle third during this time-frame.When looking at a fund's performance, it is also important to note the standard deviation of the returns. The lower the standard deviation, the less volatility the fund experiences. The standard deviation of CSGEX over the past three years is 25.78% compared to the category average of 16.65%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 21.08% compared to the category average of 13.9%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.Risk FactorsWith a 5-year beta of 1.24, the fund is likely to be more volatile than the market average. Because alpha represents a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which is the S&P 500 in this case, one should pay attention to this metric as well. CSGEX's 5-year performance has produced a negative alpha of -0.23, which means managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.ExpensesFor investors, taking a closer look at cost-related metrics is key, since costs are increasingly important for mutual fund investing. Competition is heating up in this space, and a lower cost product will likely outperform its otherwise identical counterpart, all things being equal. In terms of fees, CSGEX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.75% compared to the category average of 1.21%. From a cost perspective, CSGEX is actually cheaper than its peers.Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $1,000; each subsequent investment needs to be at least $50.Bottom LineOverall, BlackRock Small Cap Growth Equity A ( CSGEX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, worse downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a great potential choice for investors right now.For additional information on the Small Cap Growth area of the mutual fund world, make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds. There, you can see more about the ranking process, and dive even deeper into CSGEX too for additional information. And don't forget, Zacks has all of your needs covered on the equity side too! Make sure to check out Zacks.com for more information on our screening capabilities, Rank, and all our articles as well.Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Get Your Free (CSGEX): Fund Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research