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Is Fidelity Japan Fund (FJPNX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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There are plenty of choices in the Mutual Fund Equity Report category, but where should you start your research? Well, one fund that might be worth investigating is Fidelity Japan Fund (FJPNX - Free Report) . FJPNX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
History of Fund/Manager
Fidelity is based in Boston, MA, and is the manager of FJPNX. Fidelity Japan Fund debuted in September of 1992. Since then, FJPNX has accumulated assets of about $164.98 million, according to the most recently available information. The fund's current manager, Kirk Neureiter, has been in charge of the fund since March of 2014.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. FJPNX has a 5-year annualized total return of 12.5% and it sits in the top third among its category peers. But if you are looking for a shorter time frame, it is also worth looking at its 3-year annualized total return of 17.58%, 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. Compared to the category average of 14.89%, the standard deviation of FJPNX over the past three years is 14.07%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 13.48% compared to the category average of 12.71%. 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 0.69, which means it is hypothetically less volatile than 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 -0.2, managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
Expenses
As competition heats up in the mutual fund market, costs become increasingly important. Compared to its otherwise identical counterpart, a low-cost product will be an outperformer, all other things being equal. Thus, taking a closer look at cost-related metrics is vital for investors. In terms of fees, FJPNX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.07% compared to the category average of 1.48%. So, FJPNX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.
This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $0, while there is no minimum for each subsequent investment.
Bottom Line
Overall, Fidelity Japan Fund ( FJPNX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
Don't stop here for your research on Mutual Fund Equity Report funds. We also have plenty more on our site in order to help you find the best possible fund for your portfolio. Make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for more information about the world of funds, and feel free to compare FJPNX to its peers 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.
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Is Fidelity Japan Fund (FJPNX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
There are plenty of choices in the Mutual Fund Equity Report category, but where should you start your research? Well, one fund that might be worth investigating is Fidelity Japan Fund (FJPNX - Free Report) . FJPNX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
History of Fund/Manager
Fidelity is based in Boston, MA, and is the manager of FJPNX. Fidelity Japan Fund debuted in September of 1992. Since then, FJPNX has accumulated assets of about $164.98 million, according to the most recently available information. The fund's current manager, Kirk Neureiter, has been in charge of the fund since March of 2014.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. FJPNX has a 5-year annualized total return of 12.5% and it sits in the top third among its category peers. But if you are looking for a shorter time frame, it is also worth looking at its 3-year annualized total return of 17.58%, 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. Compared to the category average of 14.89%, the standard deviation of FJPNX over the past three years is 14.07%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 13.48% compared to the category average of 12.71%. 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 0.69, which means it is hypothetically less volatile than 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 -0.2, managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
Expenses
As competition heats up in the mutual fund market, costs become increasingly important. Compared to its otherwise identical counterpart, a low-cost product will be an outperformer, all other things being equal. Thus, taking a closer look at cost-related metrics is vital for investors. In terms of fees, FJPNX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.07% compared to the category average of 1.48%. So, FJPNX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.
This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $0, while there is no minimum for each subsequent investment.
Bottom Line
Overall, Fidelity Japan Fund ( FJPNX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
Don't stop here for your research on Mutual Fund Equity Report funds. We also have plenty more on our site in order to help you find the best possible fund for your portfolio. Make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for more information about the world of funds, and feel free to compare FJPNX to its peers 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.