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Is Schwab International Core Equity (SICNX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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On the lookout for a Non US - Equity fund? Starting with Schwab International Core Equity (SICNX - Free Report) should not be a possibility at this time. SICNX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 4 (Sell), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
SICNX is classified in the Non US - Equity area by Zacks, and this segment is full of potential. Non US - Equity funds focus their investments on companies outside of the United States, which is an important distinction since global mutual funds tend to keep a sizable portion of their portfolio based in the United States. Most of these funds will allocate across emerging and developed markets, and can often extend across cap levels too.
History of Fund/Manager
SICNX finds itself in the Schwab Funds family, based out of San Francisco, CA. Schwab International Core Equity debuted in May of 2008. Since then, SICNX has accumulated assets of about $1.17 billion, according to the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. SICNX has a 5-year annualized total return of 0.93% and is in the middle 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 4.11%, which places it in the bottom 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. SICNX's standard deviation over the past three years is 11.49% compared to the category average of 12.2%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 11.76% compared to the category average of 13.02%. This makes the fund less 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.
Investors should not forget about beta, an important way to measure a mutual fund's risk compared to the market as a whole. SICNX has a 5-year beta of 0.81, which means it is likely to be less volatile than the market average. 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. SICNX's 5-year performance has produced a negative alpha of -6.37, which means 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, SICNX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.86% compared to the category average of 1.20%. So, SICNX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.
Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $0 and that each subsequent investment has no minimum amount.
Bottom Line
Overall, Schwab International Core Equity ( SICNX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, similar performance, average downside risk, and lower fees compared to its peers.
Your research on the Non US - Equity segment doesn't have to stop here. You can check out all the great mutual fund tools we have to offer by going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds to see the additional features we offer as well for additional information. If you want to check out our stock reports as well, make sure to go to Zacks.com to see all of the great tools we have to offer, including our time-tested Zacks Rank.
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Is Schwab International Core Equity (SICNX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
On the lookout for a Non US - Equity fund? Starting with Schwab International Core Equity (SICNX - Free Report) should not be a possibility at this time. SICNX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 4 (Sell), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
Objective
SICNX is classified in the Non US - Equity area by Zacks, and this segment is full of potential. Non US - Equity funds focus their investments on companies outside of the United States, which is an important distinction since global mutual funds tend to keep a sizable portion of their portfolio based in the United States. Most of these funds will allocate across emerging and developed markets, and can often extend across cap levels too.
History of Fund/Manager
SICNX finds itself in the Schwab Funds family, based out of San Francisco, CA. Schwab International Core Equity debuted in May of 2008. Since then, SICNX has accumulated assets of about $1.17 billion, according to the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by a team of investment professionals.
Performance
Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. SICNX has a 5-year annualized total return of 0.93% and is in the middle 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 4.11%, which places it in the bottom 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. SICNX's standard deviation over the past three years is 11.49% compared to the category average of 12.2%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 11.76% compared to the category average of 13.02%. This makes the fund less 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.
Investors should not forget about beta, an important way to measure a mutual fund's risk compared to the market as a whole. SICNX has a 5-year beta of 0.81, which means it is likely to be less volatile than the market average. 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. SICNX's 5-year performance has produced a negative alpha of -6.37, which means 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, SICNX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.86% compared to the category average of 1.20%. So, SICNX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.
Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $0 and that each subsequent investment has no minimum amount.
Bottom Line
Overall, Schwab International Core Equity ( SICNX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, similar performance, average downside risk, and lower fees compared to its peers.
Your research on the Non US - Equity segment doesn't have to stop here. You can check out all the great mutual fund tools we have to offer by going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds to see the additional features we offer as well for additional information. If you want to check out our stock reports as well, make sure to go to Zacks.com to see all of the great tools we have to offer, including our time-tested Zacks Rank.