Any investors hoping to find a Non US - Equity fund could think about starting with Fidelity International Small Cap (FISMX Quick QuoteFISMX - Free Report) . FISMX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

FISMX is classified in the Non US - Equity area by Zacks, and this segment is full of potential. Non US - Equity funds focus their investments on companies outside of the United States, which is an important distinction since global mutual funds tend to keep a sizable portion of their portfolio based in the United States. Most of these funds will allocate across emerging and developed markets, and can often extend across cap levels too.

History of Fund/Manager

Fidelity is responsible for FISMX, and the company is based out of Boston, MA. Since Fidelity International Small Cap made its debut in September of 2002, FISMX has garnered more than $1.49 billion in assets. The fund is currently managed by Sam Chamovitz who has been in charge of the fund since March of 2014.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. FISMX has a 5-year annualized total return of 11.12% and it sits in the top third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 6.27%, 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 three years, FISMX's standard deviation comes in at 19.75%, compared to the category average of 15.92%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 16.06% compared to the category average of 13.4%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

Investors should note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 0.93, so it is likely going to be less volatile than the market at large. Another factor to consider is alpha, as it reflects a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark-in this case, the S&P 500. FISMX's 5-year performance has produced a negative alpha of -3.28, which means 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, FISMX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.07% compared to the category average of 1.19%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, FISMX is actually cheaper than its peers.

This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $0, while there is no minimum for each subsequent investment.

Bottom Line

Overall, Fidelity International Small Cap ( FISMX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Fidelity International Small Cap ( FISMX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.

Want even more information about FISMX? Then go over to Zacks.com and check out our mutual fund comparison tool, and all of the other great features that we have to help you with your mutual fund analysis for additional information. Zacks provides a full suite of tools to help you analyze your portfolio - both funds and stocks - in the most efficient way possible.