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Is Templeton Developing Markets A (TEDMX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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If you're looking for a Mutual Fund Equity Report fund category, then a potential option is Templeton Developing Markets A (TEDMX - Free Report) . TEDMX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

History of Fund/Manager

Franklin is responsible for TEDMX, and the company is based out of San Mateo, CA. Templeton Developing Markets A debuted in October of 1991. Since then, TEDMX has accumulated assets of about $693.26 million, according to the most recently available information. Chetan Sehgal is the fund's current manager and has held that role since April of 2017.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 0.6%, and is in the middle third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of -3.31%, 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. TEDMX's standard deviation over the past three years is 20.98% compared to the category average of 15.12%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 21.73% compared to the category average of 16.24%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

The fund has a 5-year beta of 0.84, so investors should note that it is hypothetically less volatile than the market at large. 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. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a negative alpha of -6.55. This means that 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, TEDMX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.38% compared to the category average of 1.13%. From a cost perspective, TEDMX is actually more expensive than its peers.

This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $1,000, 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, worse downside risk, and higher fees, Templeton Developing Markets A ( TEDMX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and therefore looks a somewhat average choice for investors right now.

Want even more information about TEDMX? Then go over to Zacks.com and check out our mutual fund comparison tool, and all of the other great features that we have to help you with your mutual fund analysis 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.


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