Global - Equity fund seekers should consider taking a look at MSIF Global Opportunity Portfolio A (MGGPX Quick QuoteMGGPX - Free Report) . MGGPX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

We note that MGGPX is a Global - Equity option, an investment area loaded with different options. While Global - Equity mutual funds invest their assets in large markets--think the U.S., Europe, and Japan--they aren't limited by geography. Their investment technique is one that leverages the global economy in order to offer stable returns.

History of Fund/Manager

MorgStanley is based in New York, NY, and is the manager of MGGPX. MSIF Global Opportunity Portfolio A made its debut in May of 2010, and since then, MGGPX has accumulated about $1.70 billion in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. Kristian Heugh is the fund's current manager and has held that role since May of 2010.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 24.6%, 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 22.7%, 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. The standard deviation of MGGPX over the past three years is 19.66% compared to the category average of 15.73%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 16.55% compared to the category average of 12.94%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

The fund has a 5-year beta of 0.89, so investors should note that it is hypothetically 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. MGGPX has generated a positive alpha over the past five years of 7.76, demonstrating 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, MGGPX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.20% compared to the category average of 1.13%. MGGPX is actually more expensive than its peers when you consider factors like cost.

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, MSIF Global Opportunity Portfolio A ( MGGPX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and higher fees, this fund looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.

This could just be the start of your research on MGGPXin the Global - 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. For analysis of the rest of your portfolio, make sure to visit Zacks.com for our full suite of tools which will help you investigate all of your stocks and funds in one place.