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

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If you have been looking for Global - Equity funds, a place to start could be T. Rowe Price Global Growth Stock Retail (RPGEX - Free Report) . RPGEX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

RPGEX 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

T. Rowe Price is based in Baltimore, MD, and is the manager of RPGEX. Since T. Rowe Price Global Growth Stock Retail made its debut in October of 2008, RPGEX has garnered more than $175.66 million in assets. The fund's current manager, R. Scott Berg, has been in charge of the fund since October of 2008.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. RPGEX has a 5-year annualized total return of 13.4% 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 15.19%, 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, RPGEX's standard deviation comes in at 11.02%, compared to the category average of 9.91%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 11.14% 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 cannot discount the risks to this segment though, as it is always important to remember the downside for any potential investment.

Nevertheless, with a 5-year beta of 1.02, the fund is likely to be as volatile as 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. RPGEX's 5-year performance has produced a negative alpha of -1.02, which means 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, RPGEX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1% compared to the category average of 1.19%. So, RPGEX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.

Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $2,500; each subsequent investment needs to be at least $100.

Bottom Line

Overall, T. Rowe Price Global Growth Stock Retail ( RPGEX ) 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.

For additional information on this product, or to compare it to other mutual funds in the Global - Equity, make sure to go to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for additional information. For analysis of the rest of your portfolio, make sure to visit Zacks.com for our full suite of tools which will help you investigate all of your stocks and funds in one place.


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