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Is T. Rowe Price Global Growth Stock Retail (RPGEX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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If you've been stuck searching for Global - Equity funds, you might want to consider passing on by T. Rowe Price Global Growth Stock Retail (RPGEX - Free Report) as a possibility. RPGEX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 4 (Sell), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

Zacks categorizes RPGEX as Global - Equity, which is a segment packed with options. Global - Equity mutual funds invest in large markets like the U.S., Europe, and Japan, and operate with very few geographical limitations. They also provide an investment technique that leverages the diverse nature of the global economy in the hopes of providing a stable return.

History of Fund/Manager

RPGEX finds itself in the T. Rowe Price family, based out of Baltimore, MD. Since T. Rowe Price Global Growth Stock Retail made its debut in October of 2008, RPGEX has garnered more than $333.70 million in assets. R. Scott Berg is the fund's current manager and has held that role since October of 2008.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. RPGEX has a 5-year annualized total return of 10.3% 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 -1.34%, 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, RPGEX's standard deviation comes in at 17.59%, compared to the category average of 15.39%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 19.15% compared to the category average of 16.3%. 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. RPGEX has a 5-year beta of 0.97, which means it is likely to be as volatile as 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. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a negative alpha of -3.41. 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, RPGEX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.93% compared to the category average of 0.97%. So, RPGEX is actually cheaper than its peers from a cost perspective.

While the minimum initial investment for the product is $2,500, investors should also note that each subsequent investment needs to be at least $100.

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

Bottom Line

Overall, T. Rowe Price Global Growth Stock Retail ( RPGEX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, T. Rowe Price Global Growth Stock Retail ( RPGEX ) looks like a somewhat weak choice for investors right now.

Want even more information about RPGEX? 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. If you are more of a stock investor, make sure to also check out our Zacks Rank, and our full suite of tools we have available for novice and professional investors alike.


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