Any investors hoping to find a Non US - Equity fund might consider looking past American Century Emerging Market Investor (TWMIX Quick QuoteTWMIX - Free Report) . TWMIX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 4 (Sell), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

We classify TWMIX 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

American Century is based in Kansas City, MO, and is the manager of TWMIX. The American Century Emerging Market Investor made its debut in September of 1997 and TWMIX has managed to accumulate roughly $703.40 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. Patricia Ribeiro is the fund's current manager and has held that role since May of 2006.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 5.79%, 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 11.25%, 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. The standard deviation of TWMIX over the past three years is 13.4% compared to the category average of 9.42%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 14.46% compared to the category average of 9.86%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

It's always important to be aware of the downsides to any future investment, so one should not discount the risks that come with this segment. TWMIX lost 68.13% in the most recent bear market and underperformed comparable funds by 9.67%. This makes the fund a possibly worse choice than its peers during a sliding market environment.

Nevertheless, investors should also note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 0.79, which means it is hypothetically less volatile than the market at large. Another factor to consider is alpha, as it reflects a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark-in this case, the S&P 500. With a negative alpha of -2.67, 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, TWMIX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.18% compared to the category average of 1.20%. So, TWMIX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.

This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $2,500, and each subsequent investment should be at least $50.

Bottom Line

Overall, American Century Emerging Market Investor ( TWMIX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees compared to its peers.

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. And don't forget, Zacks has all of your needs covered on the equity side too! Make sure to check out Zacks.com for more information on our screening capabilities, Rank, and all our articles as well.