Global - Equity fund seekers should consider taking a look at Artisan Global Opportunities Investor (ARTRX Quick QuoteARTRX - Free Report) . ARTRX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

ARTRX is classified in the Global - Equity segment by Zacks, an area full of possibilities. Even though Global - Equity mutual funds invest in bigger markets like the U.S., Europe, and Japan, these kinds of funds aren't limited by geography. Rather, they offer an investment strategy that utilizes the global economy to provide stable returns.

History of Fund/Manager

Artisan Funds is based in Boston, MA, and is the manager of ARTRX. Artisan Global Opportunities Investor debuted in September of 2008. Since then, ARTRX has accumulated assets of about $1.42 billion, according to the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by a team of investment professionals.

Performance

Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 19.5%, and is 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 21.46%, 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. The standard deviation of ARTRX over the past three years is 17.25% compared to the category average of 16.21%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 14.39% compared to the category average of 13.31%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

Investors should not forget about beta, an important way to measure a mutual fund's risk compared to the market as a whole. ARTRX has a 5-year beta of 0.84, which means it is likely to be less volatile than the market average. Alpha is an additional metric to take into consideration, since it represents a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which in this case, is the S&P 500. ARTRX's 5-year performance has produced a positive alpha of 4.4, which means managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

Expenses

Costs are increasingly important for mutual fund investing, and particularly as competition heats up in this market. And all things being equal, a lower cost product will outperform its otherwise identical counterpart, so taking a closer look at these metrics is key for investors. In terms of fees, ARTRX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.14% compared to the category average of 1.13%. From a cost perspective, ARTRX is actually more expensive than its peers.

While the minimum initial investment for the product is $1,000, investors should also note that there is no minimum for each subsequent investment.

Bottom Line

Overall, Artisan Global Opportunities Investor ( ARTRX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and higher fees, Artisan Global Opportunities Investor ( ARTRX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.

This could just be the start of your research on ARTRXin the Global - Equity category. Consider going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for additional information about this fund, and all the others that we rank as well 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.