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Is Oppenheimer Global Fund A (OPPAX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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On the lookout for a Global - Equity fund? Starting with Oppenheimer Global Fund A (OPPAX - Free Report) is one possibility. OPPAX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
Zacks categorizes OPPAX as Global - Equity, which is a segment packed with options. Global - Equity mutual funds invest in large markets like the U.S., Europe, and Japan, and operate with very few geographical limitations. They also provide an investment technique that leverages the diverse nature of the global economy in the hopes of providing a stable return.
History of Fund/Manager
Oppenheimer is based in Denver, CO, and is the manager of OPPAX. Oppenheimer Global Fund A debuted in December of 1969. Since then, OPPAX has accumulated assets of about $7.29 billion, according to the most recently available information. Rajeev Bahman is the fund manager of OPPAX since August of 2004.
Performance
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. OPPAX has a 5-year annualized total return of 12.9% and is in the middle 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 12.34%, 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. OPPAX's standard deviation over the past three years is 12.67% compared to the category average of 8.99%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 11.79% compared to the category average of 10.56%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
Investors cannot discount the risks to this segment though, as it is always important to remember the downside for any potential investment. In OPPAX's case, the fund lost 53.6% in the most recent bear market and underperformed comparable funds by 1.17%. This means that the fund could possibly be a worse choice than its peers during a down market environment.
Nevertheless, investors should also note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 1.07, which means it is hypothetically more volatile than the market at large. 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. With a negative alpha of -3.31, managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick 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, OPPAX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.12% compared to the category average of 1.20%. From a cost perspective, OPPAX is actually cheaper than its peers.
This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $1,000, while there is no minimum for each subsequent investment.
Bottom Line
Overall, Oppenheimer Global Fund A has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Oppenheimer Global Fund A looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
For additional information on the Global - 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 OPPAX 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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Is Oppenheimer Global Fund A (OPPAX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
On the lookout for a Global - Equity fund? Starting with Oppenheimer Global Fund A (OPPAX - Free Report) is one possibility. OPPAX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
Zacks categorizes OPPAX as Global - Equity, which is a segment packed with options. Global - Equity mutual funds invest in large markets like the U.S., Europe, and Japan, and operate with very few geographical limitations. They also provide an investment technique that leverages the diverse nature of the global economy in the hopes of providing a stable return.
History of Fund/Manager
Oppenheimer is based in Denver, CO, and is the manager of OPPAX. Oppenheimer Global Fund A debuted in December of 1969. Since then, OPPAX has accumulated assets of about $7.29 billion, according to the most recently available information. Rajeev Bahman is the fund manager of OPPAX since August of 2004.
Performance
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. OPPAX has a 5-year annualized total return of 12.9% and is in the middle 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 12.34%, 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. OPPAX's standard deviation over the past three years is 12.67% compared to the category average of 8.99%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 11.79% compared to the category average of 10.56%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
Investors cannot discount the risks to this segment though, as it is always important to remember the downside for any potential investment. In OPPAX's case, the fund lost 53.6% in the most recent bear market and underperformed comparable funds by 1.17%. This means that the fund could possibly be a worse choice than its peers during a down market environment.
Nevertheless, investors should also note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 1.07, which means it is hypothetically more volatile than the market at large. 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. With a negative alpha of -3.31, managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick 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, OPPAX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.12% compared to the category average of 1.20%. From a cost perspective, OPPAX is actually cheaper than its peers.
This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $1,000, while there is no minimum for each subsequent investment.
Bottom Line
Overall, Oppenheimer Global Fund A has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Oppenheimer Global Fund A looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
For additional information on the Global - 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 OPPAX 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.