If you've been stuck searching for Non US - Equity funds, you might want to consider passing on by American Funds EuroPacific Growth R5 (RERFX Quick QuoteRERFX - Free Report) as a possibility. RERFX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 4 (Sell), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

We classify RERFX in the Non US - Equity category, which is an area rife with potential choices. Investing in companies outside the United States is how Non US - Equity funds set themselves apart, since global funds tend to keep a good portion of their portfolio stateside. Many of these funds like to allocate across emerging and developed markets, and will often focus on all cap levels.

History of Fund/Manager

American Funds is responsible for RERFX, and the company is based out of Los Angeles, CA. Since American Funds EuroPacific Growth R5 made its debut in November of 2002, RERFX has garnered more than $7.09 billion in assets. The fund is currently managed by a team of investment professionals.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. RERFX has a 5-year annualized total return of 12.41% 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 10.68%, 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. Over the past three years, RERFX's standard deviation comes in at 19.22%, compared to the category average of 15.08%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 16.11% compared to the category average of 12.83%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

Investors should not forget about beta, an important way to measure a mutual fund's risk compared to the market as a whole. RERFX has a 5-year beta of 0.93, which means it is likely to be less volatile than the market average. 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. With a negative alpha of -1.39, 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, RERFX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.51% compared to the category average of 1.20%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, RERFX is actually cheaper than its peers.

Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $250 and that each subsequent investment needs to be at $50.

Bottom Line

Overall, American Funds EuroPacific Growth R5 ( RERFX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, American Funds EuroPacific Growth R5 ( RERFX ) looks like a somewhat weak choice for investors right now.

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 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.