Any investors hoping to find a Global - Equity fund could think about starting with Marsico Global Fund (MGLBX Quick QuoteMGLBX - Free Report) . MGLBX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

Zacks categorizes MGLBX 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

Marsico is responsible for MGLBX, and the company is based out of Denver, CO. The Marsico Global Fund made its debut in June of 2007 and MGLBX has managed to accumulate roughly $175.36 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund's current manager is a team of investment professionals.

Performance

Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 13.29%, and is in the top 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 5.53%, 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. The standard deviation of MGLBX over the past three years is 22.17% compared to the category average of 17.69%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 21.05% compared to the category average of 18.61%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

With a 5-year beta of 1.02, the fund is likely to be as volatile as 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. MGLBX has generated a negative alpha over the past five years of -1.2, demonstrating 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, MGLBX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.50% compared to the category average of 0.97%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, MGLBX 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 needs to be at $100

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 strong performance, average downside risk, and higher fees, Marsico Global Fund ( MGLBX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and therefore looks a somewhat average choice for investors right now.

For additional information on this product, or to compare it to other mutual funds in the Global - Equity, make sure to go to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for additional information. If you want to check out our stock reports as well, make sure to go to Zacks.com to see all of the great tools we have to offer, including our time-tested Zacks Rank.