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Is American Century Global Growth Investor (TWGGX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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Having trouble finding a Global - Equity fund? American Century Global Growth Investor (TWGGX - Free Report) is a potential starting point. TWGGX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

TWGGX is classified in the Global - Equity segment by Zacks, an area full of possibilities. Even though Global - Equity mutual funds invest in bigger markets like the U.S., Europe, and Japan, these kinds of funds aren't limited by geography. Rather, they offer an investment strategy that utilizes the global economy to provide stable returns.

History of Fund/Manager

TWGGX finds itself in the American Century family, based out of Kansas City, MO. American Century Global Growth Investor made its debut in December of 1998, and since then, TWGGX has accumulated about $439.62 million in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund's current manager is a team of investment professionals.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 8.33%, 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 15.24%, 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. TWGGX's standard deviation over the past three years is 12.49% compared to the category average of 9.66%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 12.74% 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. TWGGX lost 52.61% in the most recent bear market and outperformed its peer group by 0%. These results could imply that the fund is an on par choice than its peers during a sliding market environment.

Even still, the fund has a 5-year beta of 0.97, so investors should note that it is hypothetically as volatile as the market at large. Because alpha represents a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which is the S&P 500 in this case, one should pay attention to this metric as well. The fund has produced a negative alpha over the past 5 years of -1.8, which shows 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, TWGGX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.07% compared to the category average of 1.12%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, TWGGX is actually cheaper than its peers.

While the minimum initial investment for the product is $2,500, investors should also note that each subsequent investment needs to be at least $50.

Bottom Line

Overall, American Century Global Growth Investor ( TWGGX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.

Your research on the Global - 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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