Is Wasatch Global Opportunities Fund (WAGOX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

Non US - Equity fund seekers may want to consider taking a look at Wasatch Global Opportunities Fund (WAGOX). WAGOX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

We classify WAGOX in the Non US - Equity category, which is an area rife with potential choices. Investing in companies outside the United States is how Non US - Equity funds set themselves apart, since global funds tend to keep a good portion of their portfolio stateside. Many of these funds like to allocate across emerging and developed markets, and will often focus on all cap levels.

History of Fund/Manager

Wasatch is responsible for WAGOX, and the company is based out of Salt Lake City, UT. The Wasatch Global Opportunities Fund made its debut in November of 2008 and WAGOX has managed to accumulate roughly $106.71 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund's current manager, J.B. Taylor, has been in charge of the fund since June of 2011.

Performance

Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. WAGOX has a 5-year annualized total return of 9.25% and is in the top third among its category peers. If you're interested in shorter time frames, do not dismiss looking at the fund's 3-year annualized total return of 15.15%, which places it in the top 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. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 14.45% compared to the category average of 1.25%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

It's always important to be aware of the downsides to any future investment, so one should not discount the risks that come with this segment.

Nevertheless, investors should also note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 0.98, which means it is hypothetically as volatile as the market at large. 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. With a negative alpha of -0.86, managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

Expenses

For 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, WAGOX is a no load fund and it has an expense ratio of 1.57%.

Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $2,000; each subsequent investment needs to be at least $100.

Bottom Line

With a rank of 'hold' we aren't getting a good signal one way or another on WAGOX. That is why it might be a good idea to consider other items, such as the fund's expense ratio of 1.57%, and how this compares to other potential options being considered for investment. If cheaper, it might make a decent choice, but a more expensive fund might be worth avoiding. Just make sure to pay attention to its rank in case it shifts in the near future.

For additional information on the Non US - Equity 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 WAGOX too for additional information. Want to learn even more? We have a full suite of tools on stocks that you can use to find the best choices for your portfolio too, no matter what kind of investor you are.

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