Five Funds: Small Growth Funds With Supersized Returns

But first, a few quick general items about small-cap growth. As you might expect, these mutual funds hunt for companies with less than $1.5 billion or so in market capitalization that look poised to grow significantly -- as Aeschylus says, from a small seed a mighty trunk may grow. This is 10-bagger territory, but it's also loaded with pitfalls. Investors should seek out small-cap funds that have outstanding long-term performance with tenured managers.

Investors also need to worry about asset size in small-capville: A fund that has taken on too much money may have difficulty maneuvering. Some stellar small-cap growth funds, wary of asset bloat, have closed to new investors, including some great offerings from the Wasatch fund family.

Those that remain open after taking in a lot of money either have to put more cash in their holdings and run the risk of being overexposed to a few small companies, or buy a slew of new stocks and dilute their best picks. Less than $1.5 billion in assets is optimal for this category, but don't let dogma get in the way of stellar funds. There are funds on this list that have more assets, but they have been big for a while and have demonstrated that they can handle it.

Without further ado, here are five small-cap growth funds that have notched great long-term results, kept costs down and maintained steady leadership.