International Bond - Emerging fund seekers should consider taking a look at Franklin Emerging Market Debt Opportunity Adviser (FEMDX Quick QuoteFEMDX - Free Report) . FEMDX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

We note that FEMDX is an International Bond - Emerging option, which is loaded with different choices. International Bond - Emerging funds focus on fixed income securities from a variety of emerging international markets. Typically, investors can expect exposure to economies like China, Brazil, India, South Africa, Indonesia, and many others. These funds are appealing because of their geographic diversification, but this can also mean that currency risk is a factor.

History of Fund/Manager

Franklin is based in San Mateo, CA, and is the manager of FEMDX. Franklin Emerging Market Debt Opportunity Adviser made its debut in October of 2006, and since then, FEMDX has accumulated about $73.32 million in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund's current manager, Nicholas Hardingham, has been in charge of the fund since June of 2014.

Performance

Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 5.08%, 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 4.88%, which places it in the top 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, FEMDX's standard deviation comes in at 9.98%, compared to the category average of 10.1%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 11.53% compared to the category average of 11.77%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

This fund has a beta of 0.14, meaning that it is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. Taking this into account, FEMDX has a positive alpha of 5.35, which measures performance on a risk-adjusted basis.

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, FEMDX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1% compared to the category average of 0.92%. So, FEMDX is actually more expensive than its peers from a cost perspective.

While the minimum initial investment for the product is $1 million, 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, Franklin Emerging Market Debt Opportunity Adviser ( FEMDX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and higher fees, this fund looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.

For additional information on the International Bond - Emerging area of the mutual fund world, make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds. There, you can see more about the ranking process, and dive even deeper into FEMDX too 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.