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Is T. Rowe Price Global Stock (PRGSX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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If investors are looking at the Global - Equity fund category, T. Rowe Price Global Stock (PRGSX - Free Report) could be a potential option. PRGSX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

We note that PRGSX is a Global - Equity option, an investment area loaded with different options. While Global - Equity mutual funds invest their assets in large markets--think the U.S., Europe, and Japan--they aren't limited by geography. Their investment technique is one that leverages the global economy in order to offer stable returns.

History of Fund/Manager

T. Rowe Price is responsible for PRGSX, and the company is based out of Baltimore, MD. T. Rowe Price Global Stock made its debut in December of 1995, and since then, PRGSX has accumulated about $854.44 million in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund's current manager, David J. Eiswert, has been in charge of the fund since October of 2012.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 16.39%, and is in the top third among its category peers. If you're interested in shorter time frames, do not dismiss looking at the fund's 3-year annualized total return of 19.05%, 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, PRGSX's standard deviation comes in at 11.91%, compared to the category average of 9.91%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 11.69% compared to the category average of 9.63%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

Investors should always remember the downsides to a potential investment, and this segment carries some risks one should be aware of. In PRGSX's case, the fund lost 60.98% in the most recent bear market and outperformed its peer group by 8.54%. This might suggest that the fund is a better choice than its peers during a bear market.

Investors should not forget about beta, an important way to measure a mutual fund's risk compared to the market as a whole. PRGSX has a 5-year beta of 1.05, which means it is likely to be more 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. With a positive alpha of 1.15, managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking 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, PRGSX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.84% compared to the category average of 1.19%. So, PRGSX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.

While the minimum initial investment for the product is $2,500, investors should also note that each subsequent investment needs to be at least $100.

Bottom Line

Overall, T. Rowe Price Global Stock ( PRGSX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, T. Rowe Price Global Stock ( PRGSX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.

This could just be the start of your research on PRGSXin 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. 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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