Having trouble finding a Non US - Equity fund? Driehaus International Small Cap Growth (DRIOX Quick QuoteDRIOX - Free Report) is a potential starting point. DRIOX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

DRIOX 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

DRIOX is a part of the Driehaus family of funds, a company based out of Chicago, IL. The Driehaus International Small Cap Growth made its debut in September of 2007 and DRIOX has managed to accumulate roughly $243.89 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund's current manager is a team of investment professionals.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. DRIOX has a 5-year annualized total return of 8.82% and is in the top third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 6.35%, 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. DRIOX's standard deviation over the past three years is 18.91% compared to the category average of 19.6%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 16.49% compared to the category average of 16.89%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

Investors should note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 0.95, so it is likely going to be less volatile than 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. DRIOX's 5-year performance has produced a negative alpha of -1.79, 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, DRIOX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.25% compared to the category average of 1.20%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, DRIOX is actually more expensive than its peers.

Investors need to be aware that with this product, the minimum initial investment is $10,000; each subsequent investment needs to be at least $2,000.

Bottom Line

Overall, Driehaus International Small Cap Growth ( DRIOX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and higher fees, Driehaus International Small Cap Growth ( DRIOX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.

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