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Is Hennessy Japan Small Cap Fund Investor (HJPSX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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On the lookout for a Mutual Fund Equity Report fund? Starting with Hennessy Japan Small Cap Fund Investor (HJPSX - Free Report) is one possibility. HJPSX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

History of Fund/Manager

HJPSX finds itself in the Hennessy family, based out of Novato, CA. The Hennessy Japan Small Cap Fund Investor made its debut in August of 2007 and HJPSX has managed to accumulate roughly $34.45 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by Tadahiro Fujimura who has been in charge of the fund since August of 2007.

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 -0.06%, and it sits in the middle 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 8.4%, 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 17.32% compared to the category average of 16.58%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 17.07% compared to the category average of 16.05%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

With a 5-year beta of 0.64, the fund 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. HJPSX has generated a negative alpha over the past five years of -6.85, demonstrating that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick 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 1.57% compared to the category average of 1.27%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, HJPSX is actually more expensive than its peers.

Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $2,500 and that each subsequent investment has no minimum amount.

Bottom Line

Overall, Hennessy Japan Small Cap Fund Investor ( HJPSX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and higher fees, this fund looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.

Your research on the Mutual Fund Equity Report segment doesn't have to stop here. You can check out all the great mutual fund tools we have to offer by going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds to see the additional features we offer 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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