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Is American Funds Cap World Growth & Income R3 (RWICX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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There are plenty of choices in the Global - Equity category, but where should you start your research? Well, one fund that you should consider investigating is American Funds Cap World Growth & Income R3 (RWICX - Free Report) . RWICX holds a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

We note that RWICX 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

RWICX finds itself in the American Funds family, based out of Los Angeles, CA. The American Funds Cap World Growth & Income R3 made its debut in March of 1993 and RWICX has managed to accumulate roughly $1.07 billion in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by a team of investment professionals.

Performance

Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. RWICX has a 5-year annualized total return of 8.12% and is in the middle 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 3.94%, 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. Over the past three years, RWICX's standard deviation comes in at 16.17%, compared to the category average of 14.54%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 16.97% compared to the category average of 15.53%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

The fund has a 5-year beta of 0.89, so investors should note that it is hypothetically less volatile than the market at large. Another factor to consider is alpha, as it reflects a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark-in this case, the S&P 500. RWICX's 5-year performance has produced a negative alpha of -4.48, which means 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, RWICX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.05% compared to the category average of 0.95%. So, RWICX is actually more expensive than its peers from a cost perspective.

Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $250 and that each subsequent investment needs to be at $50

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, average downside risk, and higher fees, American Funds Cap World Growth & Income R3 ( RWICX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and therefore looks a somewhat average choice for investors right now.

For additional information on the Global - Equity 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 RWICX too 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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