Having trouble finding a Pacific Rim - Equity fund? Hennessy Japan Small Cap Fund Investor (HJPSX Quick QuoteHJPSX - Free Report) is a potential starting point. HJPSX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

The world of Pacific Rim - Equity funds is an area filled with options, such as HJPSX. Pacific Rim - Equity mutual funds usually invest in companies with a big presence in the export-focused markets of Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, and Korea. These funds also invest less than 10% of their assets in Japanese companies since Japan mutual funds are incredibly popular.

History of Fund/Manager

Hennessy is based in Novato, CA, and is the manager of HJPSX. Hennessy Japan Small Cap Fund Investor made its debut in August of 2007, and since then, HJPSX has accumulated about $47.38 million in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund's current manager, Tadahiro Fujimura, has been in charge of the fund since August of 2007.

Performance

Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 12.12%, and it sits in the top third among its category peers. If you're interested in shorter time frames, do not dismiss looking at the fund's 3-year annualized total return of 5.54%, 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 HJPSX over the past three years is 17.91% compared to the category average of 15.79%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 14.91% compared to the category average of 13.15%. 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 0.68, so it is likely going to be 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. HJPSX has generated a positive alpha over the past five years of 0.75, demonstrating that managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

Expenses

As competition heats up in the mutual fund market, costs become increasingly important. Compared to its otherwise identical counterpart, a low-cost product will be an outperformer, all other things being equal. Thus, taking a closer look at cost-related metrics is vital for investors. In terms of fees, HJPSX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.53% compared to the category average of 1.40%. HJPSX is actually more expensive than its peers when you consider factors like cost.

This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $2,500, while there is no minimum for each subsequent investment.

Bottom Line

Overall, Hennessy Japan Small Cap Fund Investor ( HJPSX ) 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.

For additional information on the Pacific Rim - 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 HJPSX too 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.