Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Is Nuveen International Growth A (NBQAX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

Read MoreHide Full Article

Having trouble finding a Non US - Equity fund? Nuveen International Growth A is a potential starting point. NBQAX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

NBQAX 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

Nuveen is based in Chicago, IL, and is the manager of NBQAX. Since Nuveen International Growth A made its debut in June of 2010, NBQAX has garnered more than $46.01 million in assets. The fund is currently managed by Reed D. Walters who has been in charge of the fund since October of 2017.

Performance

Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 3.08%, 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 9.05%, which places it in the middle 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 NBQAX over the past three years is 15.3% compared to the category average of 10.12%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 14.1% compared to the category average of 10.41%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

One cannot ignore the volatility of this segment, however, as it is always important for investors to remember the downside to any potential investment.

Investors should not forget about beta, an important way to measure a mutual fund's risk compared to the market as a whole. NBQAX has a 5-year beta of 0.97, which means it is likely to be as volatile as 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. NBQAX's 5-year performance has produced a negative alpha of -6.41, 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, NBQAX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.13% compared to the category average of 1.20%. From a cost perspective, NBQAX is actually cheaper than its peers.

While the minimum initial investment for the product is $3,000, investors should also note that each subsequent investment needs to be at least $100.

Bottom Line

Overall, Nuveen International Growth A ( NBQAX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees compared to its peers.

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 NBQAX 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.

Published in