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Is MSIF Global Opportunity Portfolio A (MGGPX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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Global - Equity fund seekers should not consider taking a look at MSIF Global Opportunity Portfolio A (MGGPX - Free Report) at this time. MGGPX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 4 (Sell), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

We note that MGGPX is a Global - Equity option, an investment area loaded with different options. While Global - Equity mutual funds invest their assets in large markets--think the U.S., Europe, and Japan--they aren't limited by geography. Their investment technique is one that leverages the global economy in order to offer stable returns.

History of Fund/Manager

MGGPX is a part of the MorgStanley family of funds, a company based out of New York, NY. Since MSIF Global Opportunity Portfolio A made its debut in May of 2010, MGGPX has garnered more than $962.89 million in assets. Kristian Heugh is the fund's current manager and has held that role since May of 2010.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. MGGPX has a 5-year annualized total return of 12.25% 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 -1.84%, which places it in the bottom 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, MGGPX's standard deviation comes in at 25.45%, compared to the category average of 14.83%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 23.46% compared to the category average of 15.74%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

With a 5-year beta of 1.11, the fund is likely to be more 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. The fund has produced a negative alpha over the past 5 years of -2.63, which shows that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick 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, MGGPX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.25% compared to the category average of 0.96%. MGGPX is actually more expensive than its peers when you consider factors like cost.

While the minimum initial investment for the product is $1,000, investors should also note that 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, MSIF Global Opportunity Portfolio A ( MGGPX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, worse downside risk, and higher fees, MSIF Global Opportunity Portfolio A ( MGGPX ) looks like a poor potential choice for investors right now.

Want even more information about MGGPX? 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. 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.


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