CGOAX vs USFR Fund Comparison

A comparison between CGOAX and USFR based on their expense ratio, growth, holdings and how well they match their benchmark performance.

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Minafi's Take on CGOAX vs USFR

Here's an in depth look at the differences between Columbia Small Cap Growth Fund I Class A($CGOAX) and WisdomTree Floating Rate Treasury Fund($USFR).

To start off, here's a look at the basics of each fund. Keep an eye on the FI Score. That's a custom score from 0 to 100 that we generate based on how good this fund is for the casual investor. Most investors only need a handful of total funds in their portfolio. The higher the score, the more likely this is one of those few. Score alone isn't enough! Keep reading on to see how different (or perhaps similar) these two funds are.

  • cgoax
  • Mutual Fund
  • US Stocks
  • Small Growth

Columbia Small Cap Growth Fund I Class A

Expenses: 1.33% (Better than 0% of similar funds)

This is a bad choice for a Small Growth US Stocks fund. See why »

  • usfr
  • ETF
  • Bond
  • Government Bond

WisdomTree Floating Rate Treasury Fund

Expenses: 0.15% (Better than 1% of similar funds)

This is an OK choice for a Government Bond Bond fund. See why »

$CGOAX is classified as a Mutual Fund while $USFR is classified as an ETF. Even though one of these is a mutual fund and the other is an ETF, that doesn't matter too much for their holdings. Both ETFs and mutual funds are just containers to hold lots of investments inside of them.

The biggest differences between these two is where they may be offered. ETFs are more widely availble from a larger number of investment apps and websites. Mutual funds, on the other hand, are generally offered by the platform they're issued by (Fidelity funds on Fidelity, Vanguard funds on Vanguard). Usually 401(k)'s will offer both ETFs and Mutual Funds. If you're investing outside of a 401(k), I'd recommend you verify the fees associated with ETF and mutual fund transactions. Some platforms charge an additional fee to purchase a mutual fund.

To learn more about the difference between these two, you can read about the difference between ETFs and Mutual Funds.

When evaluating a fund, the first things I look at are:

  • What it invests in
  • How much it charges in fees
  • How large the fund is

Let's look into these criteria one by one and see if either of these funds stands out.

Fund Holdings Comparison

Minafi's FI Score algorithm takes into account the category and market. The more niche a fund is, the lower the score. This doesn't mean it's a worse fund, but it does mean you should stop and make sure this a fund you need to diversify your portfolio.

CGOAXUSFR
Market Score 7.0 /10 6.9 /10
Category Score 5.0 /10 8.0 /10
Total12.014.9

A score of 10 means this is a solid market and category that almost every investor will want to have investments in. The lower the score, the more specific the investment. These scores are based on when most investors would add these funds to their portfolio. A score of 10 means that this fund (or one like it) belongs in a three-fund portfolio. The lower the score, the farther down in your portfolio a fund would go.

Winner: $USFR

Fee Comparison

Fees are one of the biggest killers of portfolio growth. The difference between a 2% fee and a 0.04% fee over 30 years can result in your portfolio having half the total value!

If you're just getting started investing and learning how fees impact your portfolio, I'd encourage you to read through my free investment course (specifically '2.2 - All About Fees') where I go over all the different types of fees you can be charged and how to lower them.

For these two funds, CGOAX has an expense ratio of 1.33% while USFR has an expense ratio of 0.15%.

Winner: $USFR

Fund Size Comparison

Both CGOAX and USFR have a similar number of assets under management. CGOAX has 1.14 Billion in assets under management, while USFR has 1.68 Billion.

Minafi categorizes both of these funds as medium funds. Fund size is a good indication of how many other investors trust this fund. A large fund by itself doesn't mean it's a good fund, but it is one thing to consider when figuring out how to choose the right fund.

Winner: tie

Which Should You Choose? CGOAX or USFR?

Comparing these two funds isn't an apples to apples comparison. CGOAX is a US StocksSmall Growth fund, while USFR is a BondGovernment Bond fund.

If you're aiming to build a diversified, low-fee, tax-optimized portfolio you likely won't be choosing between these two funds since they're different enough.

Running both of these funds through Minafi's FI Score algorithm, gives CGOAX a score of 41 and USFR a score of 78.

Winner: Neither, I'd research more funds if you're looking to invest for retirement.

$CGOAX

Columbia Small Cap Growth Fund I Class A

41

Read More
Ratings
Rating TypeRating
Expense Ratio Score3/10
Expense Rating0/10
Market Score7/10
Category Score5/10
Overview
OverviewDetails
Fund TypeMutual Fund
Inception DateOct-1-1996
ExchangeNMFQS
Expense Ratio1.330%
Net Assets1.14 Billion
Yield0.00%
Holdings
DescriptionInfo
MarketUS Stocks
CategorySmall Growth
Sectors
  • Basic Materials 1.53%
  • Communication Services 1.49%
  • Consumer Cyclical 16.34%
  • Consumer Defensive 0.00%
  • Energy 0.36%
  • Financial Services 3.25%
  • Healthcare 36.94%
  • Industrials 17.68%
  • Real Estate 3.62%
  • Technology 18.79%
  • Utilities 0.00%
Regions
  • Europe Developed 0.75%
  • North America 99.25%

$USFR

WisdomTree Floating Rate Treasury Fund

78

Read More
Ratings
Rating TypeRating
Expense Ratio Score9/10
Expense Rating9/10
Market Score7/10
Category Score8/10
Overview
OverviewDetails
Fund TypeETF
Inception DateOct-7-2015
ExchangeNYSE ARCA
Expense Ratio0.150%
Net Assets1.68 Billion
Yield1.49%
Holdings
DescriptionInfo
MarketBond
CategoryGovernment Bond
Sectors
  • Basic Materials 0.00%
  • Communication Services 0.00%
  • Consumer Cyclicals 0.00%
  • Consumer Defensive 0.00%
  • Energy 0.00%
  • Financial Services 0.00%
  • Healthcare 0.00%
  • Industrials 0.00%
  • Real Estate 0.00%
  • Technology 0.00%
  • Utilities 0.00%

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