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Is Franklin Mutual Global Discovery A (TEDIX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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If you have been looking for Mutual Fund Equity Report funds, it would not be wise to start your search with Franklin Mutual Global Discovery A (TEDIX - Free Report) . TEDIX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 5 (Strong Sell), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

History of Fund/Manager

Franklin is based in San Mateo, CA, and is the manager of TEDIX. Franklin Mutual Global Discovery A debuted in December of 1992. Since then, TEDIX has accumulated assets of about $4.51 billion, according to the most recently available information. A team of investment professionals is the fund's current manager.

Performance

Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 1.07%, and is in the bottom 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 0.44%, which places it in the bottom 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 16.51%, the standard deviation of TEDIX over the past three years is 20.92%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 18.04% compared to the category average of 14.65%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

With a 5-year beta of 0.85, the fund is likely to be less volatile than the market average. 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. TEDIX's 5-year performance has produced a negative alpha of -6.18, which means 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, TEDIX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.25% compared to the category average of 1.10%. From a cost perspective, TEDIX 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, Franklin Mutual Global Discovery A ( TEDIX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively weak performance, average downside risk, and higher fees, Franklin Mutual Global Discovery A ( TEDIX ) looks like a somewhat weak choice for investors right now.

Your research on the Mutual Fund Equity Report segment doesn't have to stop here. You can check out all the great mutual fund tools we have to offer by going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds to see the additional features we offer as well for additional information. If you are more of a stock investor, make sure to also check out our Zacks Rank, and our full suite of tools we have available for novice and professional investors alike.


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