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

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Have you been searching for a Non US - Equity fund? You might want to begin with Templeton Developing Markets A (TEDMX - Free Report) . TEDMX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

Zacks categorizes TEDMX as Non US - Equity, a segment stacked high with options. Non US - Equity mutual funds like to invest in companies outside of the United States, an important characteristic since global mutual funds are known to keep a good portion of their portfolio stateside. These kinds of funds can often extend across all cap levels, and will typically allocate their investments between emerging and developed markets.

History of Fund/Manager

Franklin Templeton is based in San Mateo, CA, and is the manager of TEDMX. Templeton Developing Markets A made its debut in October of 1991, and since then, TEDMX has accumulated about $1.18 billion in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund's current manager, Chetan Sehgal, has been in charge of the fund since April of 2017.

Performance

Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. TEDMX has a 5-year annualized total return of 15.03% and it sits 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 13.53%, 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. Compared to the category average of 16.02%, the standard deviation of TEDMX over the past three years is 19.97%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 16.91% compared to the category average of 13.36%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

Investors should note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 0.85, which means it is hypothetically 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. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a positive alpha of 0.5. This means that managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking 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, TEDMX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.38% compared to the category average of 1.18%. TEDMX is actually more expensive than its peers when you consider factors like cost.

This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $1,000, while there is no minimum for each subsequent investment.

Bottom Line

Overall, Templeton Developing Markets A ( TEDMX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and higher fees, this fund looks like a somewhat average choice for investors right now.

This could just be the start of your research on TEDMXin the Non US - Equity category. Consider going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for additional information about this fund, and all the others that we rank as well for additional information. And don't forget, Zacks has all of your needs covered on the equity side too! Make sure to check out Zacks.com for more information on our screening capabilities, Rank, and all our articles as well.


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