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

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Having trouble finding a Mutual Fund Equity Report fund? Hennessy Japan Small Cap Fund Investor (HJPSX - Free Report) is a potential starting point. HJPSX has 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 is a part of the Hennessy family of funds, a company based out of Novato, CA. Hennessy Japan Small Cap Fund Investor made its debut in August of 2007, and since then, HJPSX has accumulated about $34.11 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

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 -0.43%, and it sits in the bottom 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 -0.98%, which places it in the middle third during this time-frame.

It is important to note that the product's returns may not reflect all its expenses. Any fees not reflected would lower the returns. Total returns do not reflect the fund's [%] sale charge. If sales charges were included, total returns would have been lower.

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, HJPSX's standard deviation comes in at 15.16%, compared to the category average of 15.44%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 17.15% compared to the category average of 16.19%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

Investors should not forget about beta, an important way to measure a mutual fund's risk compared to the market as a whole. HJPSX has a 5-year beta of 0.64, which means it is likely to be less volatile than the market average. Alpha is an additional metric to take into consideration, since it represents a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which in this case, is the S&P 500. With a negative alpha of -6.6, managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick 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, HJPSX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.52% compared to the category average of 1.28%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, HJPSX is actually more expensive than its peers.

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

Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.

Bottom Line

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

Don't stop here for your research on Mutual Fund Equity Report funds. We also have plenty more on our site in order to help you find the best possible fund for your portfolio. Make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for more information about the world of funds, and feel free to compare HJPSX to its peers as well for additional information. Zacks provides a full suite of tools to help you analyze your portfolio - both funds and stocks - in the most efficient way possible.


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