If you've been stuck searching for Non US - Equity funds, consider American Century International Opportunity A (AIVOX Quick QuoteAIVOX - Free Report) as a possibility. AIVOX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

We classify AIVOX in the Non US - Equity category, which is an area rife with potential choices. Investing in companies outside the United States is how Non US - Equity funds set themselves apart, since global funds tend to keep a good portion of their portfolio stateside. Many of these funds like to allocate across emerging and developed markets, and will often focus on all cap levels.

History of Fund/Manager

AIVOX is a part of the American Century family of funds, a company based out of Kansas City, MO. American Century International Opportunity A debuted in March of 2010. Since then, AIVOX has accumulated assets of about $12.09 million, according to the most recently available information. The fund's current manager, Trevor Gurwich, has been in charge of the fund since March of 2010.

Performance

Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. AIVOX has a 5-year annualized total return of 10.22% 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 11.76%, 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, AIVOX's standard deviation comes in at 11.58%, compared to the category average of 9.54%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 11.57% compared to the category average of 9.29%. 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.

Even still, the fund has a 5-year beta of 0.77, so investors should note that 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. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a negative alpha of -0.57. This means that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

Expenses

For investors, taking a closer look at cost-related metrics is key, since costs are increasingly important for mutual fund investing. Competition is heating up in this space, and a lower cost product will likely outperform its otherwise identical counterpart, all things being equal. In terms of fees, AIVOX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.72% compared to the category average of 1.28%. From a cost perspective, AIVOX is actually more expensive than its peers.

While the minimum initial investment for the product is $10,000, investors should also note that each subsequent investment needs to be at least $50.

Bottom Line

Overall, American Century International Opportunity A ( AIVOX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and higher fees, American Century International Opportunity A ( AIVOX ) 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 Non US - Equity, make sure to go to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds 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.