Small Cap Fund Stand-outs

Here are 3 leading small-cap mutual funds in three categories of investment styles (from Morningstar's database):

Small Value-based Funds: There are about 131 funds of this type with $588 million in net assets on average. Their returns averaged 12.4% over the past 10 years. The leading name in this category is Tamarack Micro Cap (TMVSX) which averaged 14.5%annually in last 10 years.

Small Blend-type Funds: There are 217 small-cap blends with an average size of $705 million in Morningstar's database. They've averaged 10.9% return in the past 10 years. Among them the Pennsylvania Mutual Inv (PENNX) was the standout, averaging 14.3% annual gains for the past decade.

Small Growth Funds: There are about 273 funds in this category with an average of $407 million in net assets. Their returns averaged 7.6% annually in the past decade. The lead among this pack is taken by the UMB Scout Small Cap Fund (UMBHX) which has a solid return of (10-year average) 11.4%.