There are plenty of choices in the Non US - Equity category, but where should you start your research? Well, one fund that may not be worth investigating is Oppenheimer International Small -Mid Company Y (OSMYX Quick QuoteOSMYX - Free Report) . OSMYX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 4 (Sell), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

Zacks categorizes OSMYX 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

Invesco is responsible for OSMYX, and the company is based out of Kansas City, MO. The Oppenheimer International Small -Mid Company Y made its debut in September of 2005 and OSMYX has managed to accumulate roughly $4.16 billion in assets, as of the most recently available information. David Nadel is the fund's current manager and has held that role since November of 2019.

Performance

Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 17.15%, 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 14.31%, 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. Over the past three years, OSMYX's standard deviation comes in at 18.86%, compared to the category average of 16.11%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 15.65% compared to the category average of 13.32%. 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 0.9, 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. OSMYX has generated a positive alpha over the past five years of 0.95, demonstrating that managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

Expenses

Costs are increasingly important for mutual fund investing, and particularly as competition heats up in this market. And all things being equal, a lower cost product will outperform its otherwise identical counterpart, so taking a closer look at these metrics is key for investors. In terms of fees, OSMYX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.09% compared to the category average of 1.18%. So, OSMYX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.

This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $1,000, and each subsequent investment should be at least $50.

Bottom Line

Overall, Oppenheimer International Small -Mid Company Y ( OSMYX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Oppenheimer International Small -Mid Company Y ( OSMYX ) looks like a somewhat weak choice for investors right now.

For additional information on the Non US - Equity area of the mutual fund world, make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds. There, you can see more about the ranking process, and dive even deeper into OSMYX too for additional information. Want to learn even more? We have a full suite of tools on stocks that you can use to find the best choices for your portfolio too, no matter what kind of investor you are.