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Is Oppenheimer International Small -Mid Company A (OSMAX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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If you have been looking for Non US - Equity funds, a place to start could be Oppenheimer International Small -Mid Company A (OSMAX - Free Report) . OSMAX bears 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 OSMAX 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

OSMAX is a part of the Oppenheimer family of funds, a company based out of Denver, CO. The Oppenheimer International Small -Mid Company A made its debut in November of 1997 and OSMAX has managed to accumulate roughly $1.54 billion in assets, as of the most recently available information. Frank Jennings is the fund's current manager and has held that role since September of 2018.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 9.74%, and it sits 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 10.73%, 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, OSMAX's standard deviation comes in at 11.91%, compared to the category average of 9.32%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 10.79% compared to the category average of 9.45%. 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 OSMAX's case, the fund lost 71.4% in the most recent bear market and underperformed comparable funds by 12.98%. This means that the fund could possibly be a worse choice than its peers during a down market environment.

Even still, the fund has a 5-year beta of 0.78, so investors should note that it is hypothetically less 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 positive alpha of 1.1, managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking 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, OSMAX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.37% compared to the category average of 1.25%. OSMAX is actually more expensive than its peers when you consider factors like cost.

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, Oppenheimer International Small -Mid Company A ( OSMAX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and higher fees, Oppenheimer International Small -Mid Company A ( OSMAX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.

Don't stop here for your research on Non US - Equity funds. We also have plenty more on our site in order to help you find the best possible fund for your portfolio. Make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for more information about the world of funds, and feel free to compare OSMAX to its peers 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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