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Is Templeton Developing Markets A (TEDMX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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On the lookout for a Non US - Equity fund? Starting with Templeton Developing Markets A (TEDMX - Free Report) is one possibility. TEDMX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

TEDMX 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

Franklin Templeton is responsible for TEDMX, and the company is based out of San Mateo, CA. Since Templeton Developing Markets A made its debut in October of 1991, TEDMX has garnered more than $48.59 million in assets. The fund's current manager, Chetan Sehgal, has been in charge of the fund since April of 2017.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 2.9%, and it sits in the middle 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 12.52%, 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. TEDMX's standard deviation over the past three years is 14.43% compared to the category average of 9.94%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 15.74% compared to the category average of 10.21%. 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. In TEDMX's case, the fund lost 63.04% in the most recent bear market and underperformed comparable funds by 4.58%. This might suggest that the fund is a worse choice than its peers during a bear market.

Investors should note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 0.94, so it is likely going to be 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. TEDMX has generated a negative alpha over the past five years of -6.07, demonstrating that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

Expenses

As competition heats up in the mutual fund market, costs become increasingly important. Compared to its otherwise identical counterpart, a low-cost product will be an outperformer, all other things being equal. Thus, taking a closer look at cost-related metrics is vital for investors. In terms of fees, TEDMX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.34% compared to the category average of 1.20%. From a cost perspective, TEDMX is actually more expensive than its peers.

Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $1,000; each subsequent investment has no minimum amount.

Bottom Line

Overall, Templeton Developing Markets A ( TEDMX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, similar performance, worse downside risk, and higher 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. 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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